Gonsalves powers Kernels despite no-decision

CEDAR RAPIDS - Stephen Gonsalves did everything he could to earn a victory.

Instead of adding to his personal win total, the Cedar Rapids Kernels starter will gladly settle for the team coming out on top.

Gonsalves struck out 10 batters and allowing just one run, as Cedar Rapids used a four-run eighth for a 5-1 win over Peoria last night at Memorial Stadium. Zack Granite scored the winning run and Trey Vavra added a three-run home run to put things away for Cedar Rapids.

Gonsalves remained 1-0, but nearly doubled his strikeout total to 19 in his second start this season.

'We got a win,” Gonsalves said. 'As long as the team wins, the team wins, that is all that matters.”

The Kernels (7-2) salvaged one win from the three-game series after opening the season with six straight wins. Gonsalves engaged in a pitchers' duel with Daniel Poncedeleon, who limited the Kernels to one run on four hits through 6 1/3 innings.

'He was kind of that stopper (Friday night),” Kernels Manager Jake Mauer said. 'That's what we needed. Their kid was throwing up a lot of zeros and he went toe-to-toe with him all the way. That is a testament to him.”

Gonsalves was quick to credit his teammates. The faith he has in the defense to make plays allows him to dial in on the plate.

'I trust the guys behind me,” Gonsalves said. 'I know they will make plays. Having confidence in my team allows me to pound the strike zone.”

The Chiefs (6-3) touched Gonsalves for one in the second inning on a two-out RBI double from Blake Drake. Gonsalves shut down the Chiefs afterward, growing stronger as the game progressed, striking out the side in the fifth and seventh innings.

He benefitted from scouting Peoria batters from the stands the previous two nights, noting the first time through the lineup is the toughest.

'They showed two different attacks,” said Gonsalves, who entered the game with a 1.50 earned-run average. 'Once they showed they were free-swinging, I knew how to get ahead of them.”

The 2013 fourth-round draft pick from San Diego, Calif., kept Peoria off-balance, working a fastball that topped off at 93 miles per hour with effective off-speed pitches.

'He elevated the ball when he had to,” Mauer said. 'He used his change-up a little bit, and his breaking ball is starting to get better. That is going to be key for him.

'He's going to need that third pitch.”

At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, the left-hander still has room to grow. Mauer said Gonsalves could throw as hard as 95 mph when he fills his frame.

'He's still a young kid,” Mauer said. 'He's got a long ways to go. There's going to be a lot of velocity there when he is fully matured.”

He gave way to Zack Tillery, who tossed two shutout innings to improve to 2-0.

The Kernels broke the game open in their last at-bat. Granite almost single-handedly produced the game-winning run with a one-out walk, a stolen base, advancing to third on a groundout and scoring on a wild pitch.

Cedar Rapids padded its lead. Zack Larson walked and Max Murphy added his third hit of the game, bringing up Vavra, who pinched hit for J.J. Fernandez. Mauer said it was a disciplined-based substitution and not an instinctual move to insert Vavra, who belted the shot over the left-center field wall.

'When he came in he was ready to hit,” Mauer said. 'It's a testament to him.

'He came in there and swung at a breaking ball and maybe got fooled a little bit. They tried to sneak one by him and he was all over it. That was a big swing.”

Murphy led the Kernels offense with three hits and two runs. Mauer said Murphy did a good job hitting to the opposite field, and expects big things from Murphy in the future.

'When we get Max going, he's going to be a big part of the middle of our lineup,” Mauer said.

Cedar Rapids travels to Burlington on Saturday for the start of a three-game series.

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