A 5-inning no-hitter still counts

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's officially going down in the club and Midwest League record books as a no-hitter. You can decide for yourself about its legitimacy.

Stephen Locke of the Cedar Rapids Kernels didn't give up a hit to the Peoria Chiefs in the opener of Monday afternoon's planned double-header at Memorial Stadium. The Kernels won, 10-0, in a seven-inning game shortened to five because of rain.

After a conversation between Kernels Sports Turf Manager Jesse Roeder and the umpires, the tarp was placed on the infield just as the top of the sixth was to begin. It did rain hard, postponing the nightcap, but not until about 35 minutes later.

That would seem to have been plenty of time to get the final inning and a half in. Oh, well. It makes for good debate this way.

“Maybe it cheapens it a little bit. I don't know,” said Locke. “I wasn't really out there trying to throw a no-hitter. I was trying to win a ballgame.”

“He had a great game going,” said Kernels Manager Bill Mosiello. “He pitched a heck of a game. He's pitched well for a while ... He's done a fantastic job of filling the (strike) zone up and competing really well.”

Locke's disappointment at the timing of the tarp pull was obvious as he skulked off the mound with his head down. He went out to right field to throw more and stay warm, in hopes play would be resumed.

It wasn't.

“It was just that I wanted to keep playing until it actually started raining,” Locke said. “I thought we probably could have finished the last two innings. Especially after having that long bottom of the fifth, too. That kind of really slowed things down as well. We were really rolling through that game until then.”

The Kernels (53-32, 10-7) scored six runs in an elongated fifth, including a two-run home run by Michael Wing. Cedar Rapids had 13 hits.

Locke walked one and struck out two. Every out was of the routine variety, except for a fly ball to the short porch in left by Charles Thomas in the third that left fielder Richard Cates leaped and caught just before it hit what affectionately is called Moby, the great white wall.

“I felt pretty good, had pretty good stuff,” Locke said. “I struck like, what, two people out? That's just a testament to the guys playing behind me. Cates probably robbed a hit with that catch against the left-field wall. We wouldn't be standing here talking about this if that guy doesn't make that catch.”

It's technically the second no-hitter for the Kernels this season, following a combined nine-inning job by

Fabio Martinez,

Kyle Hurst and

Mike Kenney on April 30 at home against

Quad Cities. It's the 16th no-hitter in club history since 1902, according to a list compiled by ballclub historian Mike Koolbeck.