MWL1 Clinton LumberKings

Kings Score Late, but Kernels Prevail

Published on August 11, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Clinton LumberKings News Release


Clinton, IA - Julio Morban tripled home two runs and scored on a sacrifice fly by Stefen Romero in the eighth, but the Clinton comeback fell a run short as the LumberKings fell 6-5 to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Thursday night at Alliant Energy Field. Kernels' first-baseman Ricky Alvarez belted a three-run homer in the seventh and plated four runs on the night, finishing 2-for-5.

The Kernels took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Travis Witherspoon smacked a solo home run over the left-field fence. Alvarez added a two-out RBI single to left scoring Rolando Gomez in the third, raising the advantage to 2-0.

The LumberKings picked up their only hit and run off Kernels' starter A.J. Schugel in the bottom of the third as John Hicks reached on an error by third-baseman Brian Hernandez and scored on a two-out flare single to right by Mike McGee.

Jeremy Cruz ripped a two-out double off the mitt of Morban in left to score Gomez in the fifth, putting the Kernels back ahead by two. Kings' left-hander Tony Butler (L, 1-3) surrendered three runs on nine hits, walked one and struck out eight in a quality outing, but still took the loss.

Right-hander Ben Versnik retired his first batter in the seventh but then yielded a single to Witherspoon and walked Gomez. He'd exit in favor of right-hander John Taylor, who retired Cruz but then served up a towering three-run blast to Alvarez. That shot opened up a 6-1 lead for the Kernels.

Still, the LumberKings would battle back against right-hander Manny Correa. Stefen Romero singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kalian Sams in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to 6-2. In the eighth, Anthony Phillips doubled into the left-field corner and McGee singled into right, setting the table for Morban. His drive to the alley in right-center ended up a two-run triple, his team-leading sixth three-base hit of the year. Romero then narrowly missed a game-tying two-run homer to left, settling for a sacrifice fly that made it a 6-5 Kernels' lead.

The comeback ended there, however, as Correa struck out Tim Morris to end the eighth and right-hander Daniel Tillman (S, 12) retired three-straight batters in the ninth to end the game. Kevin Rivers stepped to the plate with two outs to pinch hit for Matt Browning, but he struck out on three pitches.

Schugel (W, 4-3) won as a result, giving up just an unearned run on one hit over 6.0 innings while fanning seven.

McGee went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI while Morban finished 1-for-4 with the triple and two RBI in the loss for Clinton. Witherspoon (3-for-4, HR, 2 runs, RBI) and Cruz (3-for-5, double, RBI) both had three-hit nights for the Kernels in addition to Alvarez's big game.

The LumberKings (24-22) take on the Kernels (19-27) in the rubber match of the three-game series tomorrow night, first pitch scheduled for 7:00 PM. Right-hander Stephen Kohlscheen (2-3, 5.52) gets the start for Clinton against Cedar Rapids' right-hander P.J. Jang (1-4, 4.38). Listen to the game on AM 1390 KCLN in Clinton or live on the web at 1390kcln.com.

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Midwest League Stories from August 11, 2011


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