Demperio needs just 1 hit

He's the Cedar Rapids Kernels player you should be rooting for the most right now. Michael Demperio needs your support, though he'd rather a hit.

Just one little infield single or something.

The utility infielder is 0-for-30 as a Kernel, including 0-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's 10-2 pasting of Wisconsin before 3,243 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The dude could have Bill Gates money, and he still wouldn't be able to buy a hit right now.

"It was (tough) at first," Demperio said. "But now it's like I can't do any worse than I am right now at the plate. So I just tell myself to relax and think about other things. Lately what's weird is the worse it has gotten, the the better it has gotten, actually. It's like 'All right, it is what it is. Just relax and try to get a hit.'

"And not really even try to get a hit. It's more like have a good at-bat. I've hit a couple of balls hard, it's just the luck of the draw. I can't really control exactly where the ball falls."

Demperio came to town July 17 from Double-A Arkansas, where he had five hits in 23 at-bats. He doesn't play regularly, which is tough for any hitter and surely has contributed to this unsightly oh-fer.

But the former University of Georgia player also hasn't had an iota of good fortune. For instance, he hit a flyball Sunday to center field that was caught for the first out of the second inning.

The next guy up, Jon Karcich, also hit a fly to center that was lost in the sun for a gift double. Demperio had to be thinking 'Where's mine?'

"I loved playing up there (in Double-A)," he said. "I was so relaxed. I had two hits my first game up there. After that, I was able to just relax. I had some really good at-bats up there and was hitting the ball hard. I came down here and ... It'll turn around. I'm not too worried about it."

The Kernels (74-48) had 16 hits, rolling to an 8-0 lead after two innings. Karcich, Casey Haerther and Randal Grichuk each had three knocks, with Grichuk driving in three.

Only two guys in the lineup didn't get a hit - Justin Bass and ... well, you know the other guy.

"We're jumping on the fastball early," said Haerther, about a team that leads the Midwest League in hitting at .279. "Before, we would fall behind (in counts) and face good breaking balls. Now we're ready. Every pitch is like a 3-0 fastball. You take that swing and put good swings on."