BURLINGTON - The Cedar Rapids Kernels knocked off the Burlington Bees, 8-2, in their series opener before 690 fans at Community Field on Thursday night for their fourth straight win.

Ethan Mildren (2-0) collected the win for Cedar Rapids. The right-hander yielded one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three in seven innings.

Brandon Bixler secured the win in relief. The southpaw yielded one run on three hits and struck out three in two innings.

Kenyan Middleton (4-4) suffered the loss for Burlington. The right-hander allowed six runs on seven hits, one hit batsmen and a walk while striking out three in three innings.

Cedar Rapids (46-32) took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Alex Real led off the frame with a double to center. Max Murphy followed Real with a single to center, giving the Kernels runners on the corners.

Jorge Fernandez gave Cedar Rapids a 1-0 lead with an RBI double to right-center, plating Real from third. A Middleton wild pitch brought in Murphy from third, extending the Kernels' lead to 2-0. Rafael Valera put the Kernels up by three with an RBI single to right-center, scoring Fernandez from third.

The Kernels extended their lead to 6-0 with three more runs in the top of the third. T.J. White was hit on the left elbow to begin the inning. Two batters later, Real drew a four-pitch walk, giving the Kernels runners on first and second.

Murphy followed Real with an RBI single to left, plating White from second. A Burlington fielding error advanced Real to third and Murphy to second. Valera put the Kernels up by six with a two-out, two-run single down the left field line, scoring both Real and Murphy.

Cedar Rapids padded its margin to 7-0 with a run in the fourth. Tanner English drew a one-out walk, extending his on-base streak to 12 games. English stole second and third for his team-leading 24th and 25th stolen bases of the year. White put the Kernels up 7-0 with an RBI double to right-center.

Zach Houchins got the Bees on the board with a two-out solo home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth. The home run for Houchins was his team-leading seventh of the year and his team-leading 37th RBI.

The Kernels went back up by seven with a run in the fifth. Murphy led off the inning with a double to right. Fernandez followed Murphy with an infield single. A Bees throwing error allowed Murphy to score and advanced Fernandez to second, making it 8-1.

Valera led the Kernels with three hits. The shortstop finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs.

Cedar Rapids concludes the two-game set at Burlington at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Midwest League all-star RHP Jared Wilson (5-2, 3.41) gets the start for Cedar Rapids while Justin Anderson (4-6, 3.49) counters for Burlington

The Kernels return home Saturday night on the 4th of July to face Burlington at 5:05 p.m. on Armed Forces Night and fireworks night.

KERNELS (8): English, cf, 4 1 0 0, White, 3b, 4 1 1 1, Corcino, rf, 5 0 2 0, Ral, dh, 4 2 1 0, Murphy, lf, 5 3 3 1, Fernandez, 1b, 4 1 2 1, Valera, ss, 5 0 3 3, Navarreto, c, 4 0 1 0, Kelly, 2b, 4 0 0 0. Totals 39 8 13 6.

BURLINGTON (2): Yacinich, ss, 2 0 0 0, Koenig, ph/lf, 1 0 1 0, Arakawa, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Allen, dh, 4 0 1 0, Delgado, rf, 4 0 0 0, Houchins, 3b, 4 2 3 1, Flair, 1b, 4 0 1 1, Salcedo, lf/ss, 4 0 0 0, Gildea, c, 4 0 0 0, Hermosillo, cf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 33 2 6 2.

Kernels       033 110 000 - 8 13 0

Burlington   000 100 001 - 2  6 2

Mildren, Bixler and Navarreto. Middleton, Carpenter (4), Kopra (6), Klonowski (8) and Gildea. W - Mildren (2-0). L - Middleton (4-4). 2B - Real (5), Fernandez (12), White (9), Murphy (11), Corcino (6), Flair (1). HR - Houchins (7). SB - English 2 (25). E - Salcedo (7), Yacinich (12). T - 2:34. A - 690.