Late comeback is a run short as Cedar Rapids Kernels drop Game 1 of MWL playoff series at Peoria

CEDAR RAPIDS — Good pitching is gonna take you a ways in postseason baseball. Everyone knows that.

But somewhere along the line, you’re gonna have to hit a bit, too. The Cedar Rapids Kernels hit a very little bit in the first game of their Midwest League Western Division championship playoff series Tuesday night and most of that hitting came late. And it was not enough.

So it’s the Peoria Chiefs who have the hammer in this best-of-3 series after a 4-3 win at Dozer Park. Darlin Moquete homered, Osvaldo Tovalin drove in a run with a single and Ramon Mendoza dropped an opposite-field, two-run home run just over a very short 310-foot fence down the right-field line to give Peoria a 4-1 lead in the seventh inning.

The Kernels drew within a run in the eighth when Noah Miller singled and scored on Kala’i Rosario’s two-out, two-run home run to dead center. Cedar Rapids got its first two hitters on in the top of the ninth inning when Luke Keaschall and Noah Cardenas walked against Peoria reliever pitcher Joseph King.

Jose Salas failed to drop down a sacrifice bunt and ended up striking out for the first out. Kyler Fedko also struck out, but Miller reached on a fielding error at third base to load the bases for the Kernels with two outs.

Emmanuel Rodriguez then hit a chopper to first base and was thrown out there, first baseman to pitcher covering to end the game.

“We’ve had a lot of games this year where we’ve come back late in the games,” said Kernels Manager Brian Dinkelman. “Rosy hit the big homer in the eighth inning to bring us within one, then we loaded the bases there in the ninth. Had one of our best hitters up. The chance was there to win a ballgame, we just didn’t come through in the end.”

Cedar Rapids had just four hits in the game, one through the first seven innings. Starting pitcher Andrew Morris taking the loss.

He gave up seven hits and four runs in five innings. Mike Paredes and John Stankiewicz combined to throw three shuout relief innings.

The Kernels went into the postseason with the best regular-season record in the full-season minor leagues at 82-50. Though they lost their final four regular-season games at Wisconsin, and now a fifth-straight game here.

The longest losing streak of the season for C.R. was eight in mid-April.

“Last week we were ready to get ourselves ready for the playoffs and things like that,” Dinkelman said. “Tonight was a good ballgame, we just came up a little bit short. We’re ready to come back on Thursday.”

The series shifts to Cedar Rapids for Game 2 Thursday night at 6:35 at Veterans Memorial Stadium. A decisive Game 3 would be Friday night at 6:35 at Memorial Stadium.

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