Tons of offense for Cedar Rapids, as Kernel hurlers pitch to the score.  Rochester hangs on.  A Rock Cats comeback falls short.

ROCHESTER 5, COLUMBUS 4 IN ROCHESTER

Batting stars:  Chris Colabello was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.  Nate Hanson was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.  Eric Farris was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  P. J. Walters pitched six innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks.

Opposition stars:  Danny Salazar struck out five in five shutout innings, allowing two hits and three walks.

Key inning:  The ninth.  The Red Wings had scored five in the sixth to go ahead 5-1, but the Clippers had come back with two in the eighth.  Luis Perdomo came in to start the ninth.  He retired the first batter, but a walk, a single, and another walk loaded the bases.  Another walk made the score 5-4, still with only one out.  Ryan Rohlinger then grounded into a double play to end the game.

PORTLAND 3, NEW BRITAIN 2 IN NEW BRITAIN

Batting stars:  Danny Santana was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Josmil Pinto was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eighth.

Pitching stars:  Logan Darnell pitched eight innings, giving up all three runs on ten hits and a walk.  Michael Tonkin struck out one in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Anthony Ranaudo struck out five in six shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks.  Matt Spring was 4-for-4 with a double and a home run, driving in two.  Travis Shaw was 2-for-4 with a triple.

Key inning:  The eighth.  Trailing 3-0, Mark Sobolewski led off with a single and scored on a two-run homer by Pinto.  A walk put the tying run on first with one out, but Dan Rohlfing hit into a flyball double play to end the inning.

CEDAR RAPIDS 23, BELOIT 16 IN BELOIT

Batting stars;  Adam Brett Walker II was 4-for-6 with two doubles and two home runs, giving him nine for the season.  He scored four times and drove in seven.  Byron Buxton was 4-for-7 with a double and a triple, scoring four times and driving in four.  Niko Goodrum was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times and driving in three.

Pitching stars:  None, so we'll list some more batters.  Tyler Grimes was 2-for-4 with two walks and a two-run homer, scoring three times.  Dalton Hicks was 2-for-4 with two walks, scoring twice and driving in one.  J. D. Williams was 1-for-3 with three walks and a double, scoring three times and driving in two.

Opposition stars:  John Wooten was 4-for-5 with a walk and a grand slam, scoring twice and driving in five.  Renato Nunez was 3-for-5 with a walk, two doubles, and a home run, scoring four times and driving in three.  Daniel Robertson was 2-for-6 with a triple, scoring twice and driving in two.

Key inning:  The third.  In the second, the Snappers cut a 6-0 lead to 6-2.  The Kernels came back with eight in the third.  Buxton hit a two-run double and Walker hit a two-run homer in the inning.  Cedar Rapids had leads of 6-0, 14-2, and 22-3.  Beloit scored six runs in the ninth to make the final score look better.  The teams combined for nineteen singles, ten doubles, three triples, five home runs, and seventeen walks.  The game was played in 3:32, which is actually faster than one might have expected.

TODAY'S TILTS

6:05  Dunedin (Aaron Sanchez, 2-1, 2.60) at Fort Myers (Jason Wheeler, 3-0, 4.66)

6:05  Columbus  at Rochester (Virgil Vasquez, 2-2, 4.55)

6:30  Cedar Rapids (Matt Tomshaw, 2-0, 5.63) at Beloit (Vincent Voiro, 1-0, 4.35)