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MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs Slam Kernels Again With 16 Runs and 24 Hits Sunday

August 30, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Chiefs Slam Kernels Again With 16 Runs and 24 Hits Sunday

Ridling collects four RBI as Chiefs wrap up the top playoff spot

Cedar Rapids, IA - The Peoria Chiefs made a statement against their first round playoff opponent on Sunday with a season high in runs and hits in a 16-5 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Nelson Perez collected the Chiefs first five hit game in more than three years while Rebel Ridling took over the Midwest League lead in RBI and hits with a 4-for-6 day and four RBI. The Chiefs are now 39-23 on the half and 77-54 on the season with seven games left.

Cedar Rapids jumped out in front with a pair in the first against Chiefs lefty Jeffry Antigua. Tyson Auer reached on an error by D.J. LeMahieu at shortstop and Darwin Perez singled to left. After a lineout, Gabe Jacobo doubled to the wall in right scoring both Auer and Perez for a 2-0 Kernels lead. Antigua recovered to get the next two outs with Jacobo stranded at second.

From that point on it was all Peoria. With one on and one out in the second, Mario Mercedes hit a grounder back to Kernels' starting pitcher Will Smith. Smith fired into centerfield while trying to start a double play to advance D.J. LeMahieu to third. With runners on the corners Junior Lake drove home a run with an infield single and Jose Valdez singled to load the bases. David Macias singled to left to tie the game at two and Ryan Flaherty's sac fly put the Chiefs on top 3-2. Rebel Ridling singled home Valdez with his second hit of the day but Ridling was out diving back into first to end the inning.

After Antigua retired the Kernels in the second, the Chiefs came out swinging again. Kyler Burke drew a lead-off walk and LeMahieu singled to center. Nelson Perez loaded the bases with a single and Mercedes doubled home two for a 6-2 Chiefs lead. Lake singled home Perez and Valdez scored Mercedes with a sac fly to left. With the Chiefs on top by six, Rebel Ridling doubled home two for his third hit of the day.

The rout was on in the fourth as Nick Pugliese relieved Smith and gave up four more runs to the Chiefs. Perez led off with a double and scored two outs later on a single by Valdez. After a basehit by Macias, Flaherty made it 12-2 with a RBI single. Ridling collected his fourth hit and fourth RBI in as many innings with a single to center. Burke made it 14-2 with his 42nd double od the season to left-center. Pugliese got out of the inning by getting LeMahieu on a ground out as the Chiefs hit around for the second straight inning. With the top of the fourth in the books, the Chiefs already had a 14-2 lead and 16 hits.

After the Kernels cut the Chiefs lead to 14-5 with a three-run sixth, Peoria put the finishing touches on their offensive explosion in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Drew Rundle got in on the act with a triple to right-center and he scored on the third hit of the game by LeMahieu. Perez collected his fifth hit of the day with a double to right but he was tagged out trying to dive back into second as LeMahieu was held at third. Mercedes made it 16-5 with a RBI groundout to second as LeMahieu scored.

Antigua (3-0) earned the win with six innings of work in which he allowed four earned runs on seven hits while striking out five. Josh Whitlock earned his first career save with three perfect innings in which he struck out one.

Playoff Watch - With seven games remaining, the Chiefs have wrapped up the top playoff spot in the second half with Burlington eight games back. The Chiefs lead Cedar Rapids by five and a half for the outright Second Half Division Title. With a magic number of two the Chiefs can wrap up the title with a win on Monday night in Cedar Rapids.

Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Nelson Perez (LF) - After making an out in his first at-bat, Perez turned in two singles and two doubles in his next four at-bats. It is his second game this season with four or more hits and he now has 18 doubles on the season.

Notes...The Chiefs hit .500 on the day at 24-for-48...The Chiefs collected hits in their first eight chances with runners in scoring position and finished 13-for-22 with two sacrifice flies...Eight of the Chiefs starters had at least two hits...Ridling now has 48 mutli-hit games, more than any other Chiefs player this decade, Ryan Norwood had 47 in 2006 and Shaun Boyd had 45 in 2002...Perez collected his second four-hit game...Ridling is now first in the MWL with 159 hits and tie for third with Mark Grace on the Chiefs single-season list...He also has a MWL best 96 RBI which passes Grace for fifth on the Chiefs single season list...Burke now has 42 doubles, one shy of Jovan Rosa's franchise record from last season...The 16 runs are one more than the Chiefs scored in Dayton in July and against Wisconsin earlier in August...The Chiefs lead the season series 7-3 against Cedar Rapids...They have outscored the Kernels 27-6 in the last two games...The 24 hits are the most for a Chiefs team since a at least the 1998 season...The last Chiefs player with five hits in a game since Jesus Valdez on July 13, 2006...Lake, who has two errors in the last two games and a MWL-worst 39 on the season, was the DH on Sunday...The win is the 21st in August for the Chiefs the most they have won in the same month since at least 1998...The Chiefs are 11-8 in Sunday games and 18-12 in day games...The Chiefs are 5-1 in Antigua's six starts...The four game series concludes Monday at 6:35 p.m. with either RH Chris Archer (5-4, 2.91) or RH Alberto Cabrera (8-2, 4.69 on the hill for the Chiefs...Both are expected to pitch though the order has not been determined...Cedar Rapids will start RH Manaurys Correa (7-9, 4.54) who took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in his last start at Wisconsin...The game can be heard starting with the pre-game show at 6:20 PM on 96.5 ESPN Radio and www.peoriachiefs.com

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