Cougars fall to Cedar Rapids in 11th inning

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - In the Cougars' last five trips to Cedar Rapids, three games have gone into extra innings and four games have been decided by 1 run. Wednesday night was no different as the Kernels (41-24, 72-63) walked off in the bottom of the 11th inning with a 3-2 win over the Cougars (43-22, 88-47).

Jonathon Hinojosa connected on the walk-off hit to score Tanner Vavra, but the Cougars and Kernels both used clutch relief and defense to continue the ballgame tied at 2-2.

Francisco Carrillo took the mound in the ninth inning and dug himself a hole with runners at second and third with only one out. With the outfield playing in, Hinojosa flied out to center field as Trey Martin slid forward to make the catch. Vavra attempted to tag and score from third, but Martin's one-hopper to Victor Caratini gunned down the runner at the plate.

The Cougars' best chance came in the top of the 10th with two on and one out. Shawon Dunston Jr. ripped a line drive that was stopped by a diving Engelb Vielma at shortstop. Vielma tagged second for the force out and tagged out Carlos Penalver in a rundown.