Weather doesn't change but hitting does in 10-3 Kernels' victory

CEDAR RAPIDS - They're tired of the weather.

“It's too cold for my blood,” said Cedar Rapids Kernels first baseman Frazier Hall after his team's 10-3 win last night over South Bend at perpetually frigid Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Hall is from Louisiana, so you understand his distaste for what old Ma Nature has thrown at him the first month of the Midwest League season. It's hard to hit when you can see your breath and the wind continually howls, seemingly in every night.

The Kernels heard how warm March was around these parts and wonder where the heck that went.

“We were monitoring it (in spring training) and were all excited,” Hall said. “We get up here and it's like like ‘What is this?' This is horrible. Especially with the wind and everything. That wind is just a killer, man. Especially at night, it just cuts right through you.”

It's all part of the development process, however, and perhaps these guys are finally getting used to it. The Kernels (10-12) had a season high in runs and hits (14) to end a three-game losing streak.

Cedar Rapids came into the game dead last in the MWL in hitting at .219 but started with five consecutive singles. Seven of the first eight Kernels reached via hit.

“Everybody is kind of in the same spot,” said outfielder Ryan Jones. “It's early. We're trying to figure out our swings. We're kind of pressing, and we shouldn't be pressing.”

Hall and Kaleb Cowart had three hits apiece for the Kernels, who open a three-game series against West Michigan this afternoon at 2:05. Gary Mitchell and Andy Workman had home runs.

Kernels Manager Jamie Burke said he and hitting coach Mike Eylward stayed at the ballpark past midnight Saturday analyzing tape of their hitters. They asked a couple of guys to make slight adjustments, but Burke said last night's performance may have simply been a law-of-averages thing.

“I just think today we finally had some balls falling in,” he said. “These guys keep working hard, and they've been having good approaches. It's just finding that place where nobody is catching it.”

Here is a copy of the game boxscore:

Scoreboard _ Midwest League Scoreboard