MWL Cedar Rapids Kernels

Great Pitching and Late Offense Leads Kernels over Cubs 7-2

Published on June 14, 2023 under Midwest League (MWL)
Cedar Rapids Kernels News Release


Cedar Rapids, IA - After four scoreless innings to start off the contest, Cedar Rapids exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fifth to spin a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead, one it would never relinquish in a 7-2 win over South Bend Wednesday afternoon.

In his second start of the season for Cedar Rapids, Cory Lewis had another excellent start in a Cedar Rapids uniform. The right-hander began his day with four shutout innings, including seven strikeouts and two 1-2-3 frames to keep the game scoreless into the top of the fifth.

Lewis' counterpart, Luis Devers, was just as special in his second start of the season. After not getting out of the first frame in his first outing of the year, Devers did not allow a hit in his four innings this afternoon allowing just a pair of walks while earning two strikeouts.

With the score still deadlocked in the top of the fifth, the Cubs finally got a run on the board against Lewis. A two-out walk placed Kevin Made at first, and a wild pitch moved him to second when Casey Opitz looped a single into left, sending Made to the plate and giving South Bend their first lead of the series at 1-0.

In the bottom half of that fifth inning, it was the Kernels' turn to get it going offensively. With Devers out of the game, Ernie Yake took a one-out walk to start the rally. After an error put Kenoi Cavaco on first base, Tanner Schobel grounded to third, where Yake was retired, keeping Cavaco and Schobel on second and first with two outs for Emmanuel Rodriguez, who lined an RBI single to right, scoring Cavaco and evening the game at 1-1. With still two on, the next batter Ben Ross crushed his tenth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left, to open up the Cedar Rapids lead to 4-1.

In the last of the sixth, the Kernels added on to that advantage. With two outs, Andrew Cossetti smashed an opposite-field line drive over the wall in right-center field to grow the Cedar Rapids lead to four.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kala'i Rosario started the frame with a single and, after advancing to second on a ground ball, scored on a Misael Urbina hit to left to make the Kernels advantage five. The next batter was Cossetti, who again produced a run with an extra-base hit, this one a double off the wall in left to score Urbina and make it a 7-1 game.

South Bend rallied to score a run in the top of the ninth, but it was too little too late for the Cubs, who drop their second straight game in his series to Cedar Rapids, this one by a final of 7-2.

The win for the Kernels (34-25) sets the team a season-best nine games over .500, while the loss for South Bend (28-30) means the Cubs no longer control their own destiny in the race for the first-half title in the Midwest League West division. The two sides play game three of the six-game series tomorrow at 6:35 with top Cubs prospect Cade Horton on the mound opposite Christian MacLeod in his second home start of the season.

Check out the Cedar Rapids Kernels Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from June 14, 2023


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