Kernels back home after needing 11 to down Beloit

Oh, man, is it going to be nice not to have to climb on a bus or sleep in a hotel room for a whole week. The Cedar Rapids Kernels have an honest-to-goodness homestand in progress.

Finally.

It's a baseball club that has got to be a little road weary at this point. The Kernels, who rallied to beat Beloit in 11 innings, 8-7, on a two-out broken-bat infield hit by Alexi Amarista Friday night at Memorial Stadium, haven't seen a whole lot of the City of Five Seasons the past three weeks.

Of their previous 21 games, 15 were on the road, including stops in three different Michigan cities. Believe it or not, those aren't as killer as the commuter trips taken to Quad Cities four straight days this week.

Those are like Groundhog Day. Get to the ballpark in the afternoon, take batting practice, hit the bus to Davenport, play a game, return home - repeat.

But there will be none of that for a while. Counting last night, Cedar Rapids has nine games in a row over eight days at home. That includes a unique day-night doubleheader today in which the 12:35 opener is free to the public.

By all rights, this should have been a loss in regulation for the Kernels (63-47, 22-17).

They trailed 6-1 in the sixth inning but rallied and tied the game on an absolute gift run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Cedar Rapids had a runner on second against Beloit closer Billy Bullock, a second-round draft pick of the parent Minnesota Twins in June. Amarista hit a grounder to Drew Thompson at second base for the apparent third out, but Thompson threw wide of first, with first baseman Danny Rams (ordinarily a catcher) unable to flag it down, allowing the tying run to score.

The Kernels also scored an unearned run in the eighth. Guess that's why the Snappers have a 42-68 overall record.

Tyson Auer tripled with two outs in the 11th. Amarista then hit a ball softly in the perfect spot.