Peoria Chiefs fall short in decisive game of their MWL playoff series
The Peoria Chiefs fell short of the powerful Cedar Rapids Kernels on Friday, losing their best-of-3 West Division Finals series in the Midwest League playoffs.
The Kernels scored four in the first and added another three in the seventh to pull away for a 9-3 victory in Game 3 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Midwest League championship series
Cedar Rapids advances to the MWL championship series against the Great Lakes Loons, who defeated the Fort Wayne TinCaps 2-1 in Game 3 of their East Division championship series on Friday night.
The MWL Championship series opens with Game 1 in Great Lakes on Sunday, Sept. 17. Cedar Rapids will host Game 2 on Tuesday, Sept. 19 and Game 3 (if needed) on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Netting in Peoria: Struck in the eye by a baseball, Peoria native sues Chiefs to increase safety at Dozer Park
How the Kernels won
The fateful first inning started when Peoria starter Zane Mills walked two batters. After a force out, the Kernels hit four consecutive singles to jump out to a 3-0 lead. An RBI groundout from Jose Salas capped the four-run first.
Cedar Rapids starter C.J. Culpepper (0-1) got the win, allowing four hits and one run in five innings and tying a career-high with eight strikeouts. He earned the win Friday. Peoria's Mills (0-1) lasted only 1.1 innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs.
Cedar Rapids tacked a run in the fifth and broke it open with three more runs in the bottom of the seventh.
The Chiefs made some noise in the ninth inning. With Osvaldo Tovalin at first, Maikel Hernandez connected on a pinch-hit, two-run homer to make it 9-3. It was Hernandez's only High-A hit after being promoted to Peoria on Aug. 25.
The Chiefs had upset Cedar Rapids, 4-3, in Game 1 on Tuesday in Peoria to put the team with the best record in the Midwest League (82-50) on the brink of elimination. The Kernels bounced back to earn a 9-4 win in Game 2, tying the series at 1-1.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Midwest League playoffs: Peoria Chiefs lose to Cedar Rapids Kernels
