Kernels and 'Roady' on the road to recovery

Ron Plein put a uniform back on Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium. Well, at least the top half.

"Got to," he said prior to Tuesday night's 11-5 Kernels victory over Burlington. "We've lost four in a row."

It's difficult to wear baseball pants when you've got most of your lower left leg in a cast. Plein, or "Roadrunner," as he's known around the ballpark, is on the disabled list.

The 65-year-old longtime Kernels equipment manager broke his ankle last week in the middle of Cedar Rapids' game at Wisconsin. Roady was doing what Roady has been known to do sometimes over the years, chasing down a foul ball behind home plate when he collided with one of Wisconsin's batboys.

Down went Roady. Snap went his ankle.

"Just like I always do," Plein said, when asked how he got injured. "Foul ball behind home plate, I was trying to beat the batboy to it. I beat him all right."

An ambulance was called to take him off the field, and the game was held up 20 minutes. Plein was taken to an Appleton hospital where surgery was performed the next day.

The Kernels played their last game of a four-game series against Wisconsin, the team bus drove to the hospital to pick up Roady and headed back to Cedar Rapids.

"Didn't even know it was broke," Plein said. "I tried to stand up but couldn't. I didn't feel no pain."

Plein, who lives at the stadium during the season, is getting around in a wheelchair and gets a harder cast put on his leg Friday. With the help of batboy Jon Teig and former batboy Randy Bear, he's still performing many of his regular clubhouse duties.

That includes doing much of the nightly team laundry.

"We're trying to slow him down," said Seth Dohrn, the Kernels' stadium operations director.

"The amazing thing is you wouldn't even know he's hurt," said Kernels General Manager Jack Roeder. "He hasn't missed a beat."

Apparently that includes helping his beloved Kernels end their losing streak by donning his No. 11 jersey top. Cedar Rapids broke out offensively, taking advantage of  some shoddy Burlington defense that made six of its 11 runs unearned.

The Kernels (34-24), two games back of first-place Kane County in the Midwest League's Western Division, scored three times in the third inning and eight times in the fourth. Matt Crawford had two hits, two walks and two runs for Cedar Rapids.

Starting pitcher Ryan Chaffee improved to 6-1, though he labored through five innings. The Kernels have scored a whopping 39 runs in his last four starts.

Cedar Rapids plays four games at Quad Cities beginning Wednesday night before returning home for eight games to end the first half.