The Cedar Rapids Kernels rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 8-2 in game two of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  Gabriel Gonzalez went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and two RBI to help the Kernels to the victory and a split in the twinbill.  Wisconsin won the opener 5-3.

 

GAME 1

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers cracked a dozen hits and rallied past the Cedar Rapids Kernels 5-3 in game one of a doubleheader on Wednesday at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  Luke Adams homered in the fourth inning to snap a 3-3 tie and Mike Boeve stayed red hot for the Timber Rattlers.

 

Wisconsin (7-3) had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the first inning.  Adams walked with two outs and stole second.  Then, Boeve extended his season-opening on base streak to ten games with a walk.  Gregory Barrios followed with a sharp single to left, but Adams was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score.

The Kernels (4-5) took the lead in the top of the third inning.  Nate Baez singled and Willie Joe Garry Jr doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs.  Wisconsin starter Patricio Aquino committed a balk to score Baez.  Gabriel Gonzalez knocked in Garry with a grounder for a 2-0 advantage.

The Rattlers responded in their half of the third inning.  Dylan O’Rae doubled and Luis Lara singled to put runners at the corners.  Adams drove in Adams with a sacrifice fly.  Lara stole second to get into scoring position.  Then, Boeve drove in Lara with a single to tie the game.

Cedar Rapids went back in front in the top of the fourth on consecutive, one-out doubles by Danny De Andrade and Jay Harry.

Wisconsin had Terence Doston on third base with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning when the offense kicked into another gear.  Lara singled to score Doston with a single up the middle.  Adams, who homered on Sunday in South Bend, made it two straight games with a home run by lining 1-1 pitch to the Kernels bullpen beyond the wall in left-center to give the Rattlers a 5-3 lead.

Aquino stranded two runners in the top of the fifth inning to end his day.  The right-hander walked one and struck one while allowing three runs on five hits before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Will Childers tossed a 1-2-3 top of the sixth inning before a sudden, heavy downpour over the stadium halted play to allow the tarp to go on the field.

The game restarted after a 21-minute delay.  The slight pause didn’t faze Boeve, who doubled with two outs for his third hit of the game.  Boeve was 3-for-3 with a walk in game one.  He is 16-for-30 with eleven walks in the first ten games of the season.

The Kernels had one more crack at Wisconsin in the top of the seventh and they would try their luck against Yerlin Rodriguez.  The righty got the first out, but walked Garry to bring the tying run to the plate.  Rodriguez ended the game when he got the next batter to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.  Rodriguez is 4-for-4 in save opportunities this season.

 

GAME 2

The Cedar Rapids Kernels rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 8-2 in game two of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  Gabriel Gonzalez went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and two RBI to help the Kernels to the victory and a split in the twinbill.  Wisconsin won the opener 5-3.

 

The Timber Rattlers (7-4) jumped to a 2-0 lead four batters into the game.  Dylan O’Rae singled and Gregory Barrios doubled.  Luis Lara singled to drive in O’Rae.  Mike Boeve made the score 2-0 on an RBI grounder. 

Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Zebby Matthews found his footing after the first four batters and would go five innings while allowing just two more hits and striking out four without issuing a walk.  He would be rewarded for his efforts by his offense.

 

The Kernels (5-5) scored three times on five consecutive hits off Wisconsin starter Tate Kuehner in the top of the third.  Agustin Ruiz started the rally with a one-out double and he took third on an error.  Keoni Cavaco drove in Ruiz with a double.  A pair of infield singles loaded the bases.  Garcia doubled deep to right to score two runs to give Cedar Rapids a 3-2 lead.

A bout of wildness cost Wisconsin reliever Miguel Guerrero in the fourth inning as he walked the bases loaded to open the frame.  Guerrero got the first out with a popup.  Then, Stiven Cruz was called to the game from the Wisconsin bullpen.  Rubel Cespedes fought back from a 1-2 count to run the count full before lining a two-run double to the wall in left.  The lead expanded for the Kernels on an RBI single by Jose Salas and an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Misael Urbina when the Rattlers were unable to turn an inning ending double play.

Gonzalez doubled in the sixth inning and scored on another double by Cespedes for the final run of the game.  Cedar Rapids had eleven hits in game two with six doubles.  They also went 7-for-19 with runners in scoring position.

Boeve’s on-base streak to open the season ended at ten games as he went 0-for-3 in the nightcap.  Lara and Barrios each had two hits to account for four of Wisconsin’s six hits in the game.

 

The Rattlers and Kernels are scheduled to play a single game on Thursday evening at Neuroscience Group Field.  Will Rudy (0-0, 0.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers.  John Klein (0-0, 1.13) is set to start for the Kernels.  Game time is 6:40pm.