CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The River Bandits scored three in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead they would not lose in a 7-3 win over Cedar Rapids Wednesday afternoon.
For the first time in eight games, the Kernels surrendered the first run. In the top of the second, Derlin Figueroa walked in front of Tyriq Kemp, who opened the scoring with a two-run home run to right. Later in the inning, an error put Nolan Sailors on second for Asbel Gonzalez, who produced a run with an RBI hit to make it 3-0.
Quad Cities added on in the third. Luke Pelzer tripled to open the inning and scored two batters later on a Jose Cerice RBI double to make it 4-0.
In the fourth, the River Bandits tallied two more. A walk and a single put two on for Figueroa, who made it 5-0 with an RBI single. The next batter, Cerice, tacked on another with an RBI fielder’s choice to up the edge to 6-0.
The Kernels got on the board in the fourth. A Yasser Mercedes single and a Khadim Diaw double put two in scoring position to open the inning. Back-to-back singles from Jacob McCombs and Danny De Andrade plated two runs to bring Cedar Rapids within four at 6-2.
In the sixth, the Kernels got one closer. With two outs, a Jay Thomason walk, and an Andy Lugo single put runners on first and second. On a double-steal attempt, the throw to second went into centerfield, and Thomason came into score to make it 6-3.
But that was the closest the Kernels would get. The River Bandits got a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh to grow the lead to 7-3, and Josh Hansell took Quad Cities the rest of the way on the mound with three scoreless innings to lock down the four-run win.
The loss drops the Kernels to 24-23 on the season and evens the series with Quad Cities 1-1. The six-game set continues on Thursday at 6:35 with Dasan Hill on the mound opposite Emmanuel Reyes.