Five-Run Fifth Lifts Peoria Over Cedar Rapids
Published on April 10, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs scored four runs in the third and another five in the fifth to top the Cedar Rapids Kernels 9-6 on Sunday afternoon. Greg Rohan went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a home run while Rubi Silva went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI to lead Peoria.
For the second day in a row, the Kernels got on the board in their first trip to the plate with a two-run first inning. Drew Heid was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Wes Hatton singled into left field putting two on with no out. As Travis Witherspoon struck out swinging, Cedar Rapids' pulled a double steal as Hatton took second base and Heid stole home. Hatton later scored on a wild pitch by Chiefs' starter Cam Greathouse.
Cedar Rapids took its lead into the third inning where the Kernels extended the lead by one. In his second at-bat of the game, Hatton ripped a ball through the legs of Chiefs' first-baseman Richard Jones that was ruled an error. Hatton advanced on a Witherspoon base hit and later scored on a RBI knock into center field by Ryan Jones.
Down 3-0, Peoria stormed back with four runs in the bottom half of the third to take their first lead of the game. After two quick outs, Pierre LePage recorded an infield single followed by Rubi Silva's first hit of the game. That brought Rohan to the plate and he crushed a three-run home run over the left field wall and in front of the palm trees to tie the game.
On the very next pitch, Jones smashed a towering home run to straightaway center field for the go-ahead run and his second homer in two days. It was the first time the Chiefs have hit back-to-back home runs since Aug. 1, 2010 when Jae-Hoon Ha and Nelson Perez did it at Beloit.
The Kernels answered back in the top half of the fifth inning on a homer of their own. Travis Witherspoon evened the game at 4-4 by taking a 3-1 pitch over the left-centerfield wall and out of the park.
The game would not stay tied for long however as the Chiefs batted around and struck five times in the last of the fifth. Rubi Silva, the second hitter of the inning, belted a solo home run over the right-centerfield wall and into the Pepsi Picnic Plaza to put Peoria up 5-4. Rohan doubled in the gap to left-center field followed by Jones, who was hit by a pitch. With two on and one out, D.J. Fitzgerald grounded a ball to Kernels' third basemen Jesus Campos. Campos made a poor throw to second base trying to retire Jones and instead, Rohan came around to score and everyone else was safe. Later, Anthony Giansanti and Sergio Burruel added RBI singles into the outfield to extend Peoria's lead to 9-4.
Peoria did not score the rest of the way, but its five-run lead proved to be enough for the victory. Cedar Rapids would only score two times in the seventh inning on a two-run home run to left field from Jean Almanzar. In the four game series, Almanzar finished with a team-leading seven RBI.
Peoria's starter Cam Greathouse finished with 4 1/3 innings pitched with four runs, three earned on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Jeff Antigua (1-0) who entered the game as the second Chiefs pitched earned his first win of the season throwing 2 2/3 innings allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two batters. Eduardo Figueroa came in to pitch the last two innings of the game and record his first save of the year. Figueroa allowed just one hit and no runs while striking out four of the seven batters he faced.
Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Rubi Silva (CF) - The Chiefs outfielder hit his first home run of the season in going 3-for-4 from the plate with two runs and a RBI.
Notes: Pierre LePage has at least one hit in each of the first four games of the seasonSilva's homer was the first of his careerThe Chiefs hit a season-high three home runs in the gameEduardo Figueroa recorded his first career saveThe Chiefs have at least nine hits in the first four games and 11 or more in each of the last threeThrough four games, Peoria has 28 runs on 45 hitsThe first road game of the season will be played on Monday, April 11 at Burlington at 6:30p.mLH Graham Hicks (0-0, 0.00) will start for Peoria while LH Jacob Brown (0-0, 0.00) starts for the BeesThe game can be heard starting with the pre-game show at 6:15 PM on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for an iPhone and iPad app.
Midwest League Stories from April 10, 2011
- Kernels Lose Series Finale In Peoria - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Whitecaps Outslug Lugnuts In Opener, 13-12 - Lansing Lugnuts
- South Bend Strikes Back, Wins 19-4 - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Bees Take Series On 10th-Inning Error - Clinton LumberKings
- Late Rally Forces Split With Snappers - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Hawks Rout TinCaps 19-4 for First W - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Bees Win 4-3 in 10 Innings - Burlington Bees
- Bats Come Alive in Great Lakes - Great Lakes Loons
- Troy, Greenville to Meet in First High School Game of '11 at Fifth Third Field Monday - Dayton Dragons
- High School Baseball at Fifth Third Field Starts Monday - Dayton Dragons
- Hot Rods Rally from Six Down to Top Dragons - Dayton Dragons
- Five-Run Fifth Lifts Peoria Over Cedar Rapids - Peoria Chiefs
- Rattlers Drop Series Finale To Kane County - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Whitecaps Slug Their Way To Come-From-Behind, Opening Day Victory - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Stovall, Llanos Lead Cougars to Victory - Kane County Cougars
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