Kernels Strike Early, Cruise to 7-3 Win in Lansing
MWL Cedar Rapids Kernels

Kernels Strike Early, Cruise to 7-3 Win in Lansing

Published on July 30, 2025 under Midwest League (MWL)
Cedar Rapids Kernels News Release


Lansing, MI - Brandon Winokur smashed a three-run home run in the top of the first inning to cap off a four-run frame, and the Kernels never looked back, taking game two in the series with the Lugnuts 7-3 Wednesday afternoon.

After Cedar Rapids was held to just two hits through the first eight innings in the series opener on Tuesday, the Kernels came out swinging on Wednesday. In the top of the first inning, singles by Kyle DeBarge and Billy Amick put two on for Jay Thomason, who lifted an RBI single to make it 1-0. Behind him, the next batter, Brandon Winokur, launched a three-run home run to left, his second big fly in as many days, to open the lead to 4-0.

Lansing got on the board in the bottom of the second. A pair of singles from Jared Dickey and Pedro Pineda opened the inning, and after a groundout moved them both into scoring position, the Lugnuts plated runs on a sacrifice fly and a Mario Gomez RBI single to make it 4-2.

The Kernels got those runs back in the fifth. An Andy Lugo single and a Poncho Ruiz walk put two on for Maddux Houghton, who made it 5-2 with an RBI base hit. After a Caden Kendle walk loaded the bases, a wild pitch scored Ruiz to put Cedar Rapids ahead 6-2.

The Lugnuts, however, wouldn't go away. In the top of the sixth, a walk and a single put two on for Dickey, who produced a run with an RBI base hit to cut it back to a 6-3 game.

But that was the closest Lansing would get. In the top of the eighth, DeBarge doubled, stole third and scored on a Thomason sacrifice fly to make it 7-3, and Paulshawn Pasqualotto came on out of the Cedar Rapids bullpen to record the game's final six outs to preserve the four-run win.

The victory evens the series with Lansing at 1-1 and improves the Kernels to 17-14 in the second half of the year. The series with the Lugnuts continues Thursday at 6:05 with Ty Langenberg on the mound opposite Grant Judkins.

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Midwest League Stories from July 30, 2025


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