MWL1 Cedar Rapids Kernels

River Bandits Defeat Kernels in Finale

Published on August 20, 2019 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Cedar Rapids Kernels News Release


DAVENPORT, IOWA - The Quad Cities River Bandits rolled to a 9-3 victory Tuesday evening against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Modern Woodmen Park. Tuesday's triumph gave the River Bandits (32-25, 75-48) a 3-1 series win over the Kernels (32-25, 71-56).

Quad Cities quickly claimed a 1-0 edge within the second inning. Zach Biermann hit a one-out double and reached third base on a Trey Dawson groundout. AJ Lee's two-out single drove Biermann in for the first run of the contest.

The River Bandits stretched their lead to 3-0 in the third. A single by Freudis Nova and a double from Wilyer Abreu put a pair of runners in scoring position. Alex McKenna collected a sacrifice fly that allowed Nova to score. Grae Kessinger followed with an RBI single that plated Abreu.

During the fifth inning, a three-run outburst doubled the advantage for Quad Cities. Austin Dennis brought in Kessinger via fielder's choice before Biermann delivered a two-run single to secure a 6-0 lead while driving in Alex Holderbach and Dennis.

Another trio of runs within the sixth put the score at 9-0 River Bandits. With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, Dennis doubled to bring in Nova, Abreu, and Kessinger. Dennis tried for a triple but was thrown out on a 9-4-5 relay. LaMonte Wade Jr., who is with the Kernels on a rehab assignment from the Minnesota Twins, picked up the outfield assist.

Cedar Rapids broke up the shutout in the eighth inning. Daniel Ozoria led off with a single, and an errant throw on a pickoff attempt allowed him to advance to third base. Spencer Steer's run-scoring groundout plated Ozoria and trimmed the difference to 9-1.

Jared Akins homered to spark a ninth-inning comeback attempt, but Quad Cities held on to the 9-3 win. The two-run home run to left field was the 11th blast for Akins and the Midwest League-leading 102nd round-tripper for Cedar Rapids.

Matt Ruppenthal (5-6) earned the win against Kody Funderburk (0-3) during the series finale. Ruppenthal registered a personal-high seven shutout innings and added five strikeouts. Funderburk was charged for six runs over 4.2 innings.

This 10-game Kernels road swing continues with a three-game series at the Clinton LumberKings. Cedar Rapids right-hander Luis Rijo (5-7, 2.63) will face Clinton right-hander Josh Roberson (1-4, 3.29) in Wednesday's opener. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz calling the tilt on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.

Fans can purchase tickets for all 2019 Cedar Rapids Kernels home games including the playoff opener September 4 against the Quad Cities River Bandits by visiting www.kernels.com, going to the Kernels Ticket Office, or calling (319) 896-7560. The Kernels Ticket Office is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.

Check out the Cedar Rapids Kernels Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from August 20, 2019


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