Everyone Produces in Kernels' 9-1 Win over Beloit
Published on July 17, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Cedar Rapids Kernels News Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - All nine members of the Kernels offense recorded hits, and the Cedar Rapids pitching staff held Beloit to just one run on four hits Friday night in a 9-1 win over the Sky Carp.
The Cedar Rapids offense got going in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Eduardo Tait ripped a double, and two batters later, Jacob McCombs followed suit with a double of his own to score Tait and put the Kernels on top 1-0.
Beloit pulled even in the top of the fourth. With one out in the inning, Esmil Valencia singled, stole second, moved to third on a balk and scored on a Colby Shade RBI single to tie the game, 1-1.
But that was the end of the Sky Carp scoring on the night. Kolten Smith got the start and allowed just one run with four strikeouts across 3.2 innings. Behind him, Christian Becerra, Nolan Santos and Nick Trabacchi combined to allow only one hit the rest of the way with four strikeouts in 5.1 scoreless frames.
With the Cedar Rapids pitching staff cruising, the offense kicked it in gear in the bottom of the fourth. A Henry Kusiak double put a runner on second for Dameury Pena, who dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and on an error on the play, Kusiak came in to score to put the Kernels back in front 2-1. The next batter, Graham Brown, opened the lead to 4-1 with a two-run home run.
In the fifth, McCombs added on, blasting a solo home run to right to extend the advantage to 5-1.
The Kernels kept coming in the sixth. Andy Lugo singled to start the inning, and after he stole second, he scored on a Tait RBI single to make it 6-1. Two batters later, a McCombs single with an error on the play scored Tait all the way from first to up the lead to 7-1.
Cedar Rapids added two more in the eighth. A Jose Salas single followed by a hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases for Lugo, who singled home a run to push the edge to 8-1. A batter later, a Yasser Mercedes bases-loaded walk forced in another run to make it a 9-1 lead, the score that would be the final.
The win improves the Kernels to 36-49 on the season and to 5-16 in the second half. The weekend series with Beloit continues with a doubleheader Saturday night. Game one in the twin bill is set for 4:30 with Adrian Bohorquez getting the start opposite Aiden May.
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