By WJBC Staff
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- The Peoria Chiefs tied the game in the top of the ninth and scored two in the 11th to beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 5-3 Tuesday night.
Collin Radack collected five hits, the most for a Chiefs player since 2010, as the Chiefs improved to 17-15 on the season and 5-3 on the roadtrip.
After losing a runner on base in each of the first three innings, the Chiefs cashed in against Mat Batts in the top of the fourth. Oscar Mercado walked to start the inning and stole second, his second steal of the game. Mercado went to third as Andrew Sohn grounded out and Luis Cruz walked to put runners on the corners. Nick Thompson put the Chiefs up 1-0 with a fielders’ choice grounder to third as Mercado scored.
Radack singled to right and both he and Thompson moved up a base on an error in right field on the play. Justin Ringo walked to load the bases but Batts escaped the inning as Alex DeLeon flew out to right.
The lead didn’t last long as Cedar Rapids rallied against Chiefs starter Austin Gomber in the bottom of the inning. Nick Gordon reached on a grounder to first base as Gomber dropped the flip from Alex DeLeon and Gordon advanced to second. After a strikeout, Max Murphy hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field for a 2-1 Kernels lead.
The Chiefs tied the game in the top of the fifth while knocking Batts from the game. Blake Drake led off with a single and Darren Seferina walked before C.K. Irby came out of the Kernels bullpen. Mercado popped out before Andrew Sohn tied the game with a double to left-center. Irby recovered to strikeout Cruz and Thompson to keep the game tied.
Cedar Rapids grabbed the lead in the bottom of the sixth while ending Gomber’s night. Gomber got his eighth strikeout of the game to start the inning before Murphy doubled to right. Jhonny Polanco took over on the mound and Zach Larson’s double to right-center put the Kernels on top 3-2 before Polanco got out of the inning.
The Chiefs rallied to tie the game against closer Cameron Booser in the ninth. Mercado singled with one out and moved to second on a Sohn walk. Cruz tied the game with a single off the glove of first baseman Trey Vavra as Mercado scored and Sohn moved to third. Thompson walked to load the bases but Booser struck out Radack and Ringo grounded out to first to end the inning.
In the 11th inning, Mercado led off with a single to left against reliever Sam Clay and he was sacrificed to second by Sohn. With one out and Mercado at third, Thompson singled down the right-field line to give the Chiefs a 4-3 lead. Radack doubled off the top of the left-center wall for his fifth hit of the game as Thompson scored for the 5-3 lead.
Gomber allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits over 5 1/3 innings in the no-decision. He walked one and tied a career and season-high with eight strikeouts. Polanco allowed an inherited runner to score on two hits and two strikeouts over 1 1/3 innings. Nick Lomascolo allowed one and struck out two in his one inning of work. Kyle Grana struck out three and allowed one hit in 1 1/3 shutout innings. Tyler Bray (2-1) allowed two hits and struck out three over 1 1/3 innings to earn the win. Rowland retired both batters he faced with a strikeout for his team-leading sixth save.
