LumberKings make Kernels fall down

CEDAR RAPIDS - On this day, the last word belonged to Clinton LumberKings first baseman Ji-Man Choi.

Booed in each of his plate appearances following his aggressive tag of Cedar Rapids base runner Ryan Jones in a fifth-inning rundown that cleared the benches and resulted in Jones' ejection, Choi silenced the Veterans Memorial Stadium crowd of 1,893 in the eighth inning with his first home run of the season, a three-run run shot to dead center off reliever Tyson Meade in Clinton's 10-8 victory Sunday over the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

"it's part of the game, you see a lot of that stuff," Kernels Manager Jamie Burke said of the altercation. "On the other hand, we played the game, that was behind us. We don't worry about that."

Jones extended his hitting streak to eight games with the fifth-inning single, but his designs on trying for second base quickly found him in a rundown.

As Jones scampered back to first, he extended his arms in an attempt to knock the ball loose from Choi, who responded with a hard tag above the shoulders.

The off-balance Jones fell backward to the ground, immediately leaping to his feet to shove Choi, emptying the benches. Order was quickly restored and Jones was ejected.

"Jonesy went in there pretty aggressive," Burke said. "I think Choi looked like he was getting ready for the collision because he's coming at him with his hands up, so, you know, whatever it is, it is."

Kernels starter Austin Wood continued his struggles, surrendering six hits and five runs, four of them earned. After three consecutive fourth-inning walks and a two-run double tied the game at 5, he was pulled. Wood also threw three wild pitches and is now winless in his last 11 starts.

"Just started leaving the ball up a little bit, trying to overcorrect stuff," Wood said. "Just trying too hard to throw strikes, I guess."

Wendell Soto doubled, homered, and drove in three runs for Cedar Rapids (27-36).

Kernels catcher Carlos Lugo left the game in the fifth inning after injuring his left leg during home plate collisions in both the third and fourth innings.

The teams will play the rubber game of the series today at noon.