Ricky Eusebio's RBI single with two out in the eleventh took the LumberKings into the Midwest League finals and ended the Kernels' season. Sean Poppen pitched five innings, giving up three hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Michael Cederoth struck out five in two shutout innings. Tom Hackimer struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings. Cedar Rapids had only four hits. Clinton had eight, three of them coming in the eleventh inning.
That concludes our daily game reports. We'll put together some season-ending information about each of the Twins' minor league teams in the days to come.
The LumberKings scored two in the third and four in the fourth to take the win. Sam Gibbons lasted only four innings, surrendering six runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Williams Ramirez came in to strike out five in three shutout innings of relief. Zander Weil was 2-for-3. The Kernels had only five hits in the game, all singles. The best-of-three series is tied at one game apiece.
TODAY'S TILT
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Sean Poppen, 1-1, 2.12) at Clinton (Nick Neidert, 7-3, 2.57)
The LumberKings led 2-0 and 3-1, but the Kernels scored two in the third to tie it and two in the fourth to take the lead. Starter Brady Anderson pitched only three innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout. Andrew Vasquez came in to throw four shutout innings, striking out six and giving one hit and one walk. Travis Blankenhorn was 3-for-4 with a walk. Christian Ibarra was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Luis Arraez was 2-for-4 with a double and is now 9-for-13 in the playoffs. Kevin Garcia was 2-for-4. Jaylin Davis was 2-for-5 with a triple. Casey Scoggins was 2-for-5. The Kernels take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
TODAY'S TILT
6:30 Cedar Rapids (Sam Gibbons, 7-6, 4.71) at Clinton (Kevin Gadea, 3-0, 2.15)
All the runs were scored in the third inning. Corey Ray singled in the lone Timber Rattler run in the top of the inning. In the bottom, Luis Arraez singled in the tying run, Zander Weil tripled home the go-ahead run, and Travis Blankenhorn's RBI single brought in an insurance run. Eduardo Del Rosario pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Tom Hackimer struck out four in two shutout innings of relief. Arraez was 4-for-4 and went 7-for-9 in the series. Casey Scoggins was 2-for-4 with a double. The win gives the Kernels a sweep of the best-of-three series. They will play Clinton in the semi-finals starting Saturday at 4:05 Central.
The Kernels led 3-0 after three, but the Timber Rattlers came back with three in the fifth to tie it. No worries, as the Kernels opened the sixth with three consecutive doubles and eventually scored five runs in the inning to take control of the game. Lachlan Wells struck out nine in five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. The bullpen came in to throw four perfect innings, with Michael Cederoth pitching three of them and Colton Davis pitching the last one. Cedar Rapids had four triples in the game. Luis Arraez was 3-for-5 with two triples, Zander Weil was 3-for-5 with a triple and a double, and Travis Blankenhorn was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double. J. J. Fernandez was 2-for-5 with a double, and Casey Scoggins and Nelson Molina were each 2-for-5. The Kernels take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
TODAY'S TILT
6:35 Wisconsin (Marcos Diplan, 6-2, 1.80) at Cedar Rapids (Eduardo Del Rosario, 6-2, 3.67)
Minor league regular seasons come to an end today. Cedar Rapids prepares for the playoffs, beginning Wednesday. Elizabethton will play the final game of its first round playoff series tonight.
The Red Wings are eliminated. The Lookouts are barely hanging on. A catcher is the winning pitcher for the Kernels. The Miracle and the GCL Twins are rained out.
