SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Cedar Rapids and South Bend combined for six home runs in the final series opener of the season Tuesday night, but it was the Cubs who outslugged the Kernels 8-4.
Eduardo Tait got the home run party started in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Tait smashed a solo shot to right, his 22nd of the year, the most for a Kernel since Cedar Rapids became a high-A affiliate in 2021, to put the Kernels on top 1-0.
Cedar Rapids doubled the lead in the second. Yasser Mercedes doubled to start the inning, and two batters later came in to score on a Tait RBI single to push the advantage to 2-0.
The Cubs took their first lead in the bottom of the third. After two quick outs, three consecutive singles from Kade Snell, Angel Cepeda and Logan Poteet, followed by a Jose Escobar double, combined to score three runs to lift South Bend in front 3-2.
The Kernels answered in the top of the fourth. Ramiro Dominguez leveled a solo home run to left to pull Cedar Rapids back even at 3-3.
In the bottom of the fifth, South Bend regained the lead. This time for good. Josiah Hartshorn singled to begin the inning and scored from first a batter later on a Kade Snell RBI triple. The next batter, Cepeda, then ballooned the lead to 6-3 with a two-run home run.
Cedar Rapids used its final home run to respond in the top of the sixth. With two away, Mercedes lined a home run out to left centerfield to trim the deficit to 6-4.
But that was the closest the Kernels would get. South Bend got solo home runs from Hartshorn and Cepeda in the bottom of the seventh to grab an 8-4 lead, the score that would be the final.
The loss drops Cedar Rapids to 47-78 on the season. The final series of the season continues in South Bend Wednesday at 6:05. Cesar Lares gets the start opposite Brayden Spears.