Cedar Rapids falls behind early and drops 11-5 contest to Clinton

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Jake Mauer has a dark head of hair.

He would like to keep it that way. Too many games like Friday night, however, and that could change to a lighter shade.

The Kernels fell into an early hole and experienced some fielding woes, while Clinton belted 18 hits in an 11-5 victory over the Kernels Friday night in Midwest League action in front of 1,709 fans at Memorial Stadium.

The Kernels drop to 6-3, while the LumberKings are 4-4 overall. Best to have a short memory and chalk it up as a learning experience as the same two teams resume their series Saturday, beginning at 4:05 p.m.

'You're going to have games like this occasionally,” Mauer said. 'The less the better and I won't get as much gray hair.”

Clinton sent nine batters to the plate in the opening inning. They were aided by one of three Kernels errors in the game and hits that seemed to find holes.

Conner Hale's seeing-eye single up the middle scored two, giving the LumberKings a 5-0 lead before the Kernels came to the plate. Kernels starter Sam Gibbons got an inning-ending double-play on his 38th pitch.

'You have to catch the ball when you're supposed to,” Mauer said. 'You give them extra opportunities and knock the ball around. Your pitcher has to throw more pitches.”

Gibbons seemed to settle down, facing just three batters in the second and third before getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. Mauer said Gibbons would have finished the fifth had the defense made plays.

'He saved our bullpen for the most part,” Mauer said. 'It looked like we were going to have to get someone in there in the first inning.

'The second, third and fourth innings were all really quick innings.”

The LumberKings scored in three straight innings. Arturo Nieto had a two-run double to give Clinton a 7-2 lead in the fifth, which included a two-out error to extend the inning.

Cedar Rapids pulled within 7-5 in the bottom half. The Kernels loaded the bases with one out, getting a double from LaMonte Wade that scored Luis Arraez. Zander Wiel and Max Murphy followed with a single and walk, respectively.

Clinton reliever Patrick Peterson came in and threw a wild pitch, scoring Wade, who slid awkwardly into home when Peterson covered. Peterson was tended to by trainers before an air cast was applied to his right leg and wheeled off the field on a stretcher.

'I thought we were going to have a chance,” Mauer said. 'We got back into the game. For whatever reason, we went out and had a hard time catching the ball and let it get away from us.”

Clinton's Joey Strain relieved the injured Peterson and retired eight straight batters, as Clinton pulled away for good. He earned the win.

The LumberKings extended their lead with a run in sixth. Luis Liberato added a two-run double in a three-run seventh. Liberato led the game off with a triple, sparking the early outburst.

Braden Bishop led Clinton with four hits. Dalton Kelly and Logan Taylor added three apiece for the LumberKings.

Arraez continued his recent success at the plate for the Kernels. For the second straight game, Arraez led off with a home run. He finished 2-for-4 with a walk and scored twice, following a 3-for-4 performance the previous night.

'He's a little competitor, man,” Mauer told The Gazette after his 3-for-4 performance in Thursday night's win. 'He takes good at-bats, works counts (and) sees a lot of pitches. He's a little baseball player, and we kind of knew that. He obviously earned his spot here. Being a young guy, he could have gone to (Elizabethton). But he played in the big leagues (winter league) under the lights in Venezuela, so he has faced some pretty good competition. Really, he is not overwhelmed here by any stretch of the imagination.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com