C.R. Kernels continue offensive about face, beat Lansing, 8-5

CEDAR RAPIDS — Hank Morrison perfectly represents his team of late.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder flailed away and failed at the plate when he first got here from extended spring training. His batting average was .083 at its lowest.

But he worked and worked, improved on some things mechanically and has that BA up to .238 after a three-hit game Sunday that helped Cedar Rapids to an 8-5 win over Lansing at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

'If you get into a hole as a baseball player, you have to know how to get out of that hole,' Morrison said.

So it has been for the Kernels the past week and a half. They lost eight of nine primarily because their offense was early Morrison-like, if you will, shut out in five of those eight losses.

But, like later Morrison, they have won three in a row now thanks to massive improvement at the plate. Cedar Rapids averaged nine runs in those games.

'The last three days, we have been taking better at-bats,' said Kernels Manager Tommy Watkins. '(Twelve) hits today, taking some walks, running the bases well. It has been a lot better.'

'Everybody was kind of pressing when we were on the road,' Morrison said of a 1-5 trip last week to West Michigan and South Bend. 'Everybody was trying to spark the team. When guys were getting out left and right, left and right, it just kind of pushed us deeper and deeper into the hole. I think we just needed to come back here and feel more comfortable. Get more time to practice before the game, work on some little things. We're right back where we should be.'

Caleb Hamilton had three hits and three RBIs for the Kernels (53-47, 14-16), who wrap up a six-game homestand with a nooner Monday against Lansing. Amaurys Minier had a grand slam in the fifth, staking starting pitcher Clark Beeker to an 8-0 lead.

Anyone who has watched the right-hander this season knows that's way more than enough support. Beeker threw six shutout innings to improve his record to 9-3.

Minier was plunked by Lansing reliever Nick Hartman on the first pitch of his next at-bat in the seventh, with home plate umpire Darius Ghani immediately ejecting him, ruling it was intentional. That eventually led to Lansing Manager Cesar Martin getting tossed, too, for vehemently arguing Hartman's ejection.

The Lugnuts have the highest team earned run average in the 16-team Midwest League by a wide margin and have seemed to provide the perfect tonic for what was an ailing Kernels offense.

'Like I've been saying, on the road, we were in every game there,' Watkins said. 'We just didn't swing the bats that well. When you're not swinging the bats and things aren't going your way, it snowballs.'

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