Cedar Rapids Kernels second baseman Blake Schmit was taken to Mercy Hospital Wednesday night after being hit in the head by a 95 mph fastball by Great Lakes pitcher Karch Kowalczyk.

Great Lakes won the game, 2-1.

Schmit lay face-down in the right-handed batter's box after the accident in the eighth inning as Kernels trainer Curtis Simondet and Manager Jake Mauer rushed to his side.

Schmit, a right-handed batter, was hit on the helmet near his left temple. The violent impact appeared to shove the helmet into Schmit's nose, causing bleeding from his left nostril.

Mauer said Schmit was dizzy, but never lost consciousness.

"He's probably got a concussion, from what it looks like," said Mauer.

The ball did not appear to hit Schmit in the face, with the helmet taking the brunt of the impact.

"He's going to be pretty swollen. He's going to look like a boxer for awhile," said Mauer. "That was pretty scary. All things being said, it was pretty lucky that's all it was. It happened pretty quick. That kid (Kowalczyk) has a good arm. A real good arm."

Schmit sat up after a few minutes, with assistance, but was unable to stay on his feet the first time he tried. Mauer and Simondet caught Schmit before he was able to fall and eased him back to the ground.

A few minutes later, Schmit got to his feet with assistance from Simondet and Mauer. Schmit, obviously woozy, put one arm around Simondet and one arm around Kernels hitting coach Tommy Watkins, who began walking slowly with him toward the doors behind home plate.

Kernels strength coach Coty Greene relieved Watkins and helped take Schmit to the clubhouse. An ambulance was summoned and Schmit left the clubhouse on a stretcher, with gauze in his left nostril where the bleeding occurred.

"He was awake, and he was talking," said Mauer. "And the blood was coming from his nose, dripping down. He was dizzy, as you would expect. Not quite altogether.

"Hopefully it's nothing too series," said Mauer. "It's good that he was awake. He's probably not going to sleep too good tonight."

Mauer anticipates Schmit will be placed on the Disabled List and a new infielder will join the club.

Kowalczyk, who threw the pitch, said he planned to communicate with Schmit and wish him well. Kowalczyk said he wanted to go "up and in" with the pitch, but certainly not hit him.

"I obviously just lost control and let it go a little bit," he said. "And unfortunately he kind of dove into it a little bit, too, so it added a little bit to the impact.

"It sucks," said Kowalczyk. "I wish him the best, obviously. It was completely unintentional and it just sucks that sometimes in baseball things happen.

"It's one of those things where it's bang-bang. I heard the impact and I went, 'Oh, man.' It was real rough.

"We're going to try and get a hold of him and relay a message and be professional about it."

Several of Schmit's teammates, including Trey Vavra and Randy LeBlanc, were in the Kernels clubhouse while Simondet and the paramedics treated Schmit, trying to help as much as possible and support their stricken teammate.

Schmit, 23, is from Eden Prairie, Minn., and was selected by the Twins in the 26th round of the 2014 draft. He is hitting .226 for the Kernels.

Felix Jorge pitched a strong game for the Kernels, but was the hard-luck loser in the 2-1 contest before 2,482 fans at the stadium. He pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on four hits.

Jorge took a shutout into the sixth inning before Johan Mieses connected for a solo home run to left field. Great Lakes scored again in the eighth for a 2-0 lead.

The Kernels loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with one out, but scored only one run on a sacrifice fly by Edgar Corcino. Pat Kelly, who was the pinch-runner for Schmit, scored for the Kernels.

Cedar Rapids (36-23) and Great Lakes (32-26) meet again Thursday night at 6:35.

GREAT LAKES (2): Verdugo, cf, 4 0 1 1, Mieses, rf, 4 1 1 1, Ahmed, ss, 2 0 0 0, Cordero, 1b, 4 0 0 0, Allen, 3b, 4 0 1 0, Leon, c, 4 0 0 0, Santana, lf, 3 0 0 0, Navin, dh, 3 0 0 0, Ramos, 2b, 3 1 1 0. Totals 32 1 4 2.

KERNELS (1): Corcino, rf, 3 0 0 1, Gordon, ss, 4 0 0 0, Larson, lf, 4 0 1 0, Real, dh, 4 0 1 0, Doe, 1b, 4 0 1 0, White, 3b, 4 0 0 0, Schmit, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Kelly, pr/2b, 0 1 0 0, Navarreto, c, 3 0 2 0, English, cf, 3 0 1 0. Totals 31 1 6 1.

Great Lakes    000 001 010 - 2 4 0
Kernels        000 000 010 - 1 6 2

Martinez, Kowalczyk (7), Underwood (8) and Leon. Jorge, Booser (9) and Navarreto. W - Martinez (1-0). L - Jorge (3-3). S - Underwood (2). 2B - Ramos (9), Real (2), Doe (7). HR - Mieses (5). E - Doe (2), Navarreto (1). T - 2:24. A - 2,482.