Kaelen Culpepper helps Cedar Rapids Kernels to 8-1 victory over Wisconsin

CEDAR RAPIDS - They haven’t really hit the long ball too much in the early going. Though they did Sunday, and it helped the Cedar Rapids Kernels pick up a victory.

Danny DeAndrade opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning, and Kaelen Culpepper hit a go-ahead three-run shot in the fifth in C.R.’s 8-1 win over Wisconsin at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Kernels came in with seven homers in their first 19 games, which ranked third to last in the 12-team Midwest League. They’ve been a good hitting club overall, just not with home runs.

“Our guys, we keep battling, we keep finding different ways to win. Today it was the long ball,” said Kernels Manager Brian Meyer. “As a team, I think we’re right where we should be this time of year.”

It was a wonderful game for Culpepper, the first-round pick of the parent Minnesota Twins in last year’s MLB Draft. His homer had an exit velocity of 100 miles per hour and went 390 feet to left field.

He walked in his next at-bat in the seventh and salted away the game with an opposite-field, two-run single hit hard to right field in the eighth. His five RBIs are a career high.

The shortstop from Kansas State University came off the seven-day disabled list this past week after battling a hand injury. A hamstring problem hindered him in spring training.

To make sure that didn’t linger, Culpepper was taken out of games in the later innings the first couple of weeks and didn’t play back-to-back games.

“KC obviously had a great day today,” Meyer said. “Got pitches in the zone. Early on this season, I just thought he was pulling off balls a little bit. He’s been working really hard with (hitting coach) C.J. (Baker) in the cages and everything. He’s been battling some injuries, too, with the hamstring out of spring training and the hand the first week of the season. So he’s still finding his way.

“It was really good to see him bust out and hit some balls hard and make some plays defensively.”

Another guy who impressed Sunday and has impressed in his first three starts this season is pitcher Jose Olivares. The 22-year-old right-hander from Venezuela threw for the second time this week, due to a minor injury to starter Charlee Soto, and struck out three in his three innings of work, showing off a fastball that hit 98 miles per hour.

He has allowed just three hits in 10 innings thus far, with 17 strikeouts.

“The biggest adjustment that he has had is his mentality,” said Meyer, who managed him last season at low-Class A Fort Myers. “Just being able to stay present, control what he can control. I can remember back in 2023 where there would be times where he wouldn’t get calls or he’d give up hits and just mentally he would get uspet and not be able to transfer his mind to the next pitch. He’d be living in the past and not living in the present moment.”

The teams split their six-game series. Cedar Rapids remains at home again this week, playing the South Bend Cubs six games.

The series opener is Tuesday night at 6:35.

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