CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (WHTC AM/FM) – The West Michigan Whitecaps needed extra innings to obtain a coveted series split with a 4-3 10-inning victory over the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Sunday afternoon at Perfect Game Field.
The win gives the Whitecaps victories in three of six contests against the Kernels, a 2-1 second-half record, and a 7-5 mark during their 12-game road trip. It becomes just the third series of the season the Kernels failed to record a series win.
The early story of the ballgame was the continued success of pitcher Ty Madden, who tossed five scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and no walks with four strikeouts. Madden, a Detroit Tigers first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft finishes the month of June with a 0.72 ERA in 25 innings while giving up just 12 base hits.
In the second, Carlos Mendoza plated a run with an RBI-single to help West Michigan take a 1-0 lead. In the eighth, a run-scoring double from Jose King extended the lead to 2-0, but Pat Winkel evened the game in the bottom of the frame with a two-run homer. With the score tied 2-2, reliever Elvis Alvarado stranded runners at second and third in the ninth to push the game into extra innings. In the tenth, outfielder Ben Malgeri ripped an RBI-double into left-center field before a sacrifice fly by Daniel Cabrera extended the lead to 4-2. In the bottom of the frame, a run-scoring single by Dylan Neuse brought the Kernels within a run. With runners at the corners, Alvarado struck out first baseman Charles Mack before Kyler Fedko grounded out to third base, clinching the series split.
Alvarado (3-1) earns his third win and second in as many appearances, with two innings without giving up an earned run, while Bradley Hanner (4-2) suffers his second loss. The Whitecaps second-half record improves to 2-1 and 33-36 on the season, while the Kernels decline to 1-2 and 44-25 overall. Mendoza and Bryant Packard each recorded a pair of hits in the victory marking the teams’ 69th ballgame of the season.
The Whitecaps come home for a six-game series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps from LMCU Ballpark beginning Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.
(courtesy of West Michigan Whitecaps)
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