The Cedar Rapids Kernels jumped to an early lead only to see the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rally to tie the game. Cedar Rapids broke the tie with a run in the fifth and three more in the sixth and went on to a 7-4 win over the Rattlers at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium
Kyler Fedko and Seth Gray got the Kernels (57-35 0verall, 14-12 second half) off to a very fast start in the first inning. The first two batters in the Cedar Rapids lineup hit back-to-back home runs for a 2-0 lead five pitches into the game. Aaron Sabato followed with a double. Yunior Severino drove in Sabato with a single and a 3-0 advantage.
Wisconsin (48-43, 12-14) responded in the bottom of the first to cut into the deficit. Tristan Peters and Jackson Chourio opened the inning with single. Joe Gray Jr followed with a single to knock in Peters and send Chourio to third base. The single by Gray extended his current hitting streak to a season-high seven games.
Gray and Chourio pulled a double steal with Wes Clarke at the plate to get the Rattlers to within a run.
In the bottom of the second inning, Zavier Warren walked and Arbert Cipion doubled to put runners at second and third with one out. Peters got Warren home with a ground out to tie the game 3-3.
Justin Bullock, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, retired twelve Kernels in a row after the RBI single by Severino in the first inning. That streak was snapped on a lead-off single by Dylan Neuse in the fifth. Charles Mack followed with an RBI double to score Neuse with the go-ahead run.
The Kernels plated three more runs in the sixth inning against reliever Justin Bullock. A walk and a single started the frame. Jake Rucker drove in the first run with a double. Jeferson Morales knocked in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly that was deep enough to move Rucker to third base. Neuse got Rucker across the plate with a ground out and the Kernels were up 7-3.
Peters doubled off Ryan Shreve to start the Wisconsin seventh inning, but it looked like he would be left there. Ashton McGee, who had been robbed of hits on liners that were caught earlier in the game, sent a high popup behind third base that dropped in fair territory. That would be as close as the Timber Rattlers would get.
Shreve got the final out of the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth. Derek Molina worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.
The loss was the ninth in a row for Wisconsin.
Game three of the series is set for Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Israel Puello (1-2, 3.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Aaron Rozek (7-4, 4.38) has been named as the starter for the Kernels. Game time is 6:40pm CDT.
