Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Westphal returns home to beat Wisconsin

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - Luke Westphal earned a win for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in front of family members and many friends Tuesday afternoon before 2,884 fans at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wis.

The southpaw, along with Randy LeBlanc and Cam Booser, held the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to just two hits as the Kernels won, 3-2, for their second consecutive win.

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Kernels end 3-game skid at Wisconsin

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - The Cedar Rapids Kernels blanked Wisconsin, 4-0, Monday in the opener of a three-game series before 2,946 fans at Fox Cities Stadium.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Kernels.

Sam Gibbons (2-2) went six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits for the victory. He struck out five and walked four.

Luke Bard went two scoreless innings for the Kernels in relief, allowing two hits while striking out two and walking one. Trevor Hildenberger worked a perfect ninth inning.

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Ex-Kernel returns and beats former team

Christian Powell remembers the date like it was yesterday, even though it happened more than a year ago during the 2014 season in Cedar Rapids.

"May 11th. A rainout with Peoria," he said Sunday.

That was the day Kernels Manager Jake Mauer told Powell that the Minnesota Twins had decided to give him his unconditional release from baseball. In other words, he was fired.

"To be honest with you, I kind of felt it coming the whole year," he said. "I just felt off. I just wasn't pitching very well.

"I expected it to happen, which is kind of a bad thing and probably didn't help the way I was performing. It got into my head too much."

Powell signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent this March and was assigned to the Quad Cities River Bandits, putting him back in the Class A Midwest League with the Kernels.

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Kernels stopped by River Bandits

Nice rally, nice crowd, good fireworks, but a tough loss.

That was the story for the Cedar Rapids Kernels Saturday in a 6-4 setback to the Quad Cities River Bandits before a season-high crowd of 4,315 fans on Fireworks Night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Kernels were just one out away from collecting a 4-3 victory, but the River Bandits tied the game with two outs in the top of the ninth inning on an RBI single by Nick Tanielu.

Quad Cities scored twice in the 10th inning to claim the victory in a battle of teams that have already clinched spots in the Midwest League playoffs. The River Bandits finished first in the West Division in the first half of the season and the Kernels were second.

The River Bandits led 3-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Kernels erupted for four runs on five straight hits.

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Westphal hopes to keep beating the odds

Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Luke Westphal has already beaten the odds by getting this far in his pro baseball career.

Not many guys get a shot at pro ball after playing in college at the NCAA Division III level, and not many guys get a shot at organized pro ball after spending two years in an Independent League.

Westphal has been there and done that. Now the 26-year-old lefty is hoping to beat the odds again by having a successful career in the Minnesota Twins organization after a late start.

He made his first appearance for the Kernels Friday night during what turned out to be a 4-3 loss in 10 innings to Quad Cities before 4,031 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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Corcino lifts Kernels by Bandits

The Cedar Rapids Kernels staggered slightly coming out of the gate in their first game of the second half of their Midwest League season Thursday night, but they utilized some late-inning heroics to top the River Bandits, 4-3, on Edgar Corcino’s game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth.

Through five innings, the home crowd of 2,700 paying customers had little to cheer about other than another outstanding pitching performance by Kernels starter Felix Jorge. Thursday marked the 10th consecutive start in which Jorge finished at least six innings.

The heroics began in the field during the sixth inning when Kernels left fielder Zack Larson made a leaping catch at the left field wall to snag a drive by Jacob Nottingham.

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Bixler, Westphal will pitch for Kernels

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday that Brandon Bixler has been activated from the 7-day disabled list and Luke Westphal will join the Kernels from Fort Myers in the Florida State League.

Bixler and Westphal are left-handed pitchers.

Bixler was placed on the DL when the Kernels broke spring training in April. He was selected by the Twins in the 16th round of the 2013 draft and pitched for the Kernels last season, posting a 7-4 record and 2.68 ERA in 41 relief appearances.

The Twins signed Westphal as a non-drafted free agent on Jan. 31. He pitched last season for the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League, making 35 appearances (one start) with a 3-5 record, 2.91 ERA and one save. Westphal has appeared in 16 games (five starts) for Fort Myers, posting a 3-3 record and 3.82 ERA.

With Wednesday's transactions, the Kernels roster is at the Midwest League maximum of 25 active players.

The Kernels are currently on break for the Midwest League All-Star Game. They return to action Thursday night against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Kernels enjoy MWL all-star game

PEORIA, Ill. - The Midwest League’s Eastern Division All-Stars took two hours and 44 minutes to top their Western Division counterparts, 5-0, in Peoria Tuesday night, but any Cedar Rapids fans who made the trip hoping to watch the Kernels’ representatives had to be careful with the timing of their trips to the concession stand.

Pitchers Felix Jorge, Jared Wilson, Trevor Hildenberger and Cam Booser spent less than a combined 15 minutes on the mound while throwing a total of 2 1/3 innings for the West.

Jorge needed just 10 pitches to retire all three hitters he faced in a perfect third inning, striking out one. Wilson started the eighth inning and was just as efficient, using just seven pitches to get through his assigned two outs, including a strikeout.

Hildenberger relieved Wilson and used just four pitches to finish the inning with a strikeout of his own. Booser was assigned the first out of the ninth inning, entering with the West trailing 2-0. He walked one and gave up a pair of hits before getting an out on a bouncer back to him on the mound.

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Kernels send Nordgren to Elizabethton

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Minnesota Twins announced Monday that pitcher Miles Nordgren has been assigned to the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League.

Nordgren made six relief appearances for the Kernels, allowing six runs (three earned) on 17 hits in 13 1/3 innings. He posted a 2.03 ERA with three walks and nine strikeouts.

The Twins did not immediately announce a corresponding move to fill the Kernels' roster.

The Kernels are currently on break for the Midwest League All-Star Game, hosted by the Peoria Chiefs on Tuesday. They return to action at 6:35 p.m. Thursday and open a four-game home series with the Quad Cities River Bandits.