Poppen, Blankenhorn Carry Kernels to Victory

GENEVA, ILL. - Sean Poppen pitched seven shutout innings Saturday at Northwestern Medicine Field, and Travis Blankenhorn drove in three runs for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in a 6-0 shutout over the Kane County Cougars. The Kernels evened this series at one win each and reclaimed first place in the Midwest League Western Division standings from the Cougars.
Poppen (3-1) earned the victory while notching his eighth quality start in nine outings this season for the Kernels (28-21). He registered six strikeouts over seven scoreless innings and also retired nine consecutive batters in one stretch. Saturday's start was Poppen's longest shutout start since posting 7.2 scoreless frames April 14 against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

Blankenhorn put Cedar Rapids on the scoreboard during the first inning. Ariel Montesino led off with a double and later scored during a single from Blankenhorn. Caleb Hamilton also collected an RBI single in the opening stanza for a 2-0 lead.
The Kernels also scored in the third and fifth innings, increasing their lead to 5-0. Blankenhorn singled to drive in Montesino during the top of the third. Jermaine Palacios brought in Ben Rortvedt with a force out in the fifth, and Blankenhorn followed by hitting a sacrifice fly that allowed Aaron Whitefield to come home.
Hank Morrison added the finishing blow against Kane County (26-21) in the top of the eighth. Morrison crushed a solo shot to left field and secured the first home run of his professional career.
Blankenhorn finished Saturday's game with a 2-for-4 clip and a season-high-tying three runs batted in. Cedar Rapids' shutout victory was completed by scoreless innings from Zack Tillery and Hector Lujan. Tillery got into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Lujan pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to wrap up the win.
Kane County starting pitcher Mack Lemieux (0-1) was the losing pitcher Saturday. Lemieux allowed five runs over 4.2 innings pitched. Four of the five runs were earned.
Game three of this four-game series is slated for 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The probable pitchers for Sunday's tilt are Cedar Rapids southpaw Domenick Carlini IV (2-3, 5.97) and Kane County right-hander Curtis Taylor (0-4, 5.40). Follow the action with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
The next Kernels homestand features a visit by the Quad Cities River Bandits from Tuesday, May 30 through Thursday, June 1. Fans can purchase tickets for all Kernels home games by visiting www.kernels.com, going to the Kernels Ticket Office, or calling (319) 896-7560. The Kernels Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.