SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Justin Mitrovich did not allow a run on just two hits with four strikeouts across a career-high six scoreless innings while Byron Chourio drove in four of the Kernels seven runs to lead Cedar Rapids to a 7-0 win over South Bend Saturday night.
After scoring the final 13 runs of the game on Friday, Cedar Rapids opened the scoring on Saturday. In the top of the second, Jose Salas singled, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Byron Chourio RBI groundout to put the Kernels in front 1-0.
That turned out to be the game-winning run. Justin Mitrovich got the start for Cedar Rapids and was dominant over six shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four en route to the win. Behind him, Cleiber Maldonado tossed a scoreless seventh inning, and Brian Zeldin came on and tossed two clean innings out of the bullpen to close out the Kernels first nine-inning shutout of the season.
With the South Bend bats quieted, Quinn McDaniel doubled the lead in the top of the fourth. To lead off the inning, McDaniel lined a home run off the foul pole in left to up the lead to 2-0.
The Kernels added on in the sixth. Danny De Andrade was hit by a pitch to start the inning and after a McDaniel double put two on, Chourio launched a three-run home run to extend the advantage to 5-0.
In the eighth, Cedar Rapids wasn’t done. A one-out McDaniel double put a runner in scoring position for Jose Salas, who doubled to center to plate the run and make it 6-0. After a Chourio single put Salas on third, he came home to score on a Luis Hernandez sacrifice fly to up the lead to 7-0, the score that would be the final.
The win is the Kernels' third straight in South Bend and improves Cedar Rapids to 41-64 on the season. The series with the Cubs concludes Sunday at 1:05. Cesar Lares gets the start, opposite Ethan Flanagan.