Kernels, Burlington avoid more extra innings ... barely

CEDAR RAPIDS - On the following day, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Burlington Bees played extra innings again. Almost.

Believe it or not, the teams were tied in the ninth last night at Veterans Memorial Stadium. But another marathon wasn't to be, as Burlington scored on a two-out infield fielding error, of all things, to win in regulation, 6-5.

For those who sat through five hours and 17 innings of baseball Wednesday night, that's a collective “whew” you heard. That includes both teams.

“You know that little fire thing that says break glass in case of emergency?” said Burlington Manager Aaron Nieckula. “I was about ready to break that.”

Wednesday night's doozy (a 4-3 Kernels win) wasn't even the longest game in Cedar Rapids' 50-year history in the Midwest League. That's believed to be a 19-inning whopper against Beloit at Memorial Stadium in late August 2006.

The MWL record, by the way, is 25 innings between Clinton and Waterloo in 1989. Someone in the press box before last night's game kidded about going 18 innings, but he wasn't laughing when the ninth rolled around.

“Of course, you think about what could happen,” said Kernels first baseman Brandon Decker. “But, honestly, we were just trying to get a run and do whatever we could to win.”

Kernels Manager Brent Del Chiaro said Wednesday night's game was the longest he'd been involved in as a player or coach.

“It saps energy after awhile,” he said. “You try to keep the kids focused, try to get them to have good at-bats. Instead of trying to swing for the fences, you want to put some good consistent ABs together. But delirium sets in, and you try to overcome that, too.”

These are commuter trips for Burlington, and the Bees didn't get home until 2 a.m. Thursday. They hit their bus again about 3:30 p.m., later than originally scheduled.

“The thing about baseball is you've got to have a short memory,” Nieckula said.