Rortvedt, Gore Push Kernels to 7-5 Victory

BOWLING GREEN, KY. - Back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Ben Rortvedt and Jordan Gore broke a ninth-inning tie Friday to give the Cedar Rapids Kernels a 7-5 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Bowling Green Ballpark. Trey Cabbage's unassisted double play in the bottom of the ninth ended the contest which left this series tied at 1-1.
Cedar Rapids (15-14) came through in the clutch to end its five-game losing streak. With two outs and two runners in scoring position during the ninth, Rortvedt hit a go-ahead single that plated Shane Carrier. Gore followed with a single of his own to bring in Jean Carlos Arias. An error and a fly out opened the bottom of the ninth before Taylor Walls lined out to Cabbage, who stepped on first base to double off Eleardo Cabrera for the final out.

The Kernels also opened the scoring Friday. Akil Baddoo touched home on Alex Kirilloff's first-inning triple for a quick 1-0 lead. Kirilloff has now hit safely in 12 consecutive games including one extra-base hit in each of his last 11 appearances.
The Hot Rods (21-13) answered later in the first inning to tie the game at 1-1. Vidal Brujan recorded a leadoff triple and came in on a groundout by Walls.
Both sides traded runs over the next two frames. Bowling Green took a 3-1 lead during the second inning after Adrian Rondon's RBI double and Cabrera's run-scoring single. Cedar Rapids responded in the third with Baddoo scoring on a wild pitch followed by an RBI single from Carrier for a 3-3 tie.
Bowling Green jumped back in front within the fourth before Cedar Rapids tied the tilt at 5-5 in the fifth. Devin Davis and Rondon each came home due to errors to create another two-run edge for the Hot Rods. The Kernels pulled even during the fifth when Carrier scored via wild pitch and Arias clubbed a game-tying solo home run to right-center field. Friday's contest remained tied until Cedar Rapids' two-out rally in the final frame.
Carlos Suniaga (2-0) earned the victory, and Ivan Pelaez (0-1) was the losing pitcher. Suniaga stranded an inherited runner and allowed just one hit over 3.1 shutout innings of relief. Pelaez conceded two runs over two innings pitched.
This six-game Kernels road trip wraps up Saturday with the rubber game against the Hot Rods. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and left-handers Bryan Sammons (0-3, 3.00) and Josh Fleming (1-0, 0.00) will start for Cedar Rapids and Bowling Green, respectively. Catch all 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.
Cedar Rapids' next homestand starts Monday, May 14 and includes five games against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Fans can purchase tickets for all Cedar Rapids 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.