With 26 combined hits in a back-and-forth battle, the Chiefs outlasted the Cedar Rapids Kernels in a 12-10 win on Thursday night at Dozer Park. The victory marked Peoria’s fourth straight win, its longest April winning streak since 2023.
The Kernels struck first in the opening inning with an Eduardo Tait solo home run off Chiefs starter Leonel Sequera to take a 1-0 lead.
Peoria responded right away with three runs in the bottom half. Ian Petrutz crushed a two-run shot to right-center, scoring Tai Peete, who reached on a leadoff walk.
Three batters later, Won-Bin Cho brought home Jalin Flores on a fielder’s choice to give the Chiefs a 3-1 advantage.
The Chiefs added two more in the second inning. Flores connected on an RBI double, plating Sammy Hernandez. Josh Kross followed with an RBI single to drive in Flores and extended the lead to 5-1.
Cedar Rapids starter Jason Doktorczyk took the loss after he gave up five runs on five hits across the first two frames.
In the third inning, Eduardo Tait brought in Jaime Ferrer on a groundout to cut the Kernels deficit to 5-2.
Sammy Hernandez doubled in Anyelo Encarnación to extend the Chiefs lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the third.
After a scoreless fourth, the bats produced again in the fifth for both teams. Cedar Rapids emerged with a two-run double by Eduardo Tait, scoring Ferrer and Marek Houston.
The Chiefs added one on in the home half on a Hernandez double which scored Miguel Villarroel and made it 7-4 Peoria.
In the sixth, the Kernels bounced back again with a Caden Kendle two-run homer to left-center field that scored Danny De Andrade and reduced the deficit to 7-6.
The Chiefs fended off the Kernels once more with a five-run home half of the sixth inning. Kross recorded his fourth hit to bring in Petrutz and Villarroel doubled in Flores and Kross to make it 10-6 Peoria.
Jose Cordoba capped off the rally with a two-run blast to left-center. Those runs culminated into a 12-6 Peoria advantage.
An empty seventh ensued, and then the Kernels answered with four runs in the top of the eighth. After a two RBI single from Caden Kendle, Miguel Briceno notched a two-run shot to shorten the Chiefs' lead to 12-10.
In the ninth, Dominic Freeburger protected Peoria’s advantage with a scoreless frame to earn his first save of the season.
Sequera picked up his first victory of the year, despite six runs on eight hits, to go along with seven strikeouts and no walks in six innings of work. That marks the longest outing a Peoria starter has pitched this season.
Peoria aims for five straight wins on Friday, when the team will wear the Orange Barrels jerseys for the first time this season. First pitch is at 6:35 P.M. against the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
It’s also Family Friday where fans can take advantage of four tickets for $50.
If you can’t make it to Dozer Park, tune into the audio feed on PeoriaChiefs.com or watch the game on MiLB.TV or the Bally Sports Live App.