J.D. Williams did not need to take a cold shower after delivering the game-winning hit for the Cedar Rapids Kernels on a warm Tuesday afternoon.

He was given an ice-cold bath on the field after the Kernels clipped Beloit, 4-2, thanks to Ivory Thomas, his teammate and roommate on the club.

Williams delivered a two-run pinch-hit single in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie and give the Kernels their third straight victory before a season-high crowd of 3,002 fans and noisy school kids at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Williams was doing a post-game television interview with Jared Aarons of KGAN when Thomas snuck up from behind and dumped a bucket of ice on his buddy.

"I knew as soon as it hit me who's idea it was," said Williams, laughing.

Williams was in a mild hitting slump and batting only .231 when Manager Jake Mauer told him to pinch-hit for Carlos Avila with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning. Avila was 2-for-2 with a walk at the time, but Mauer thought Williams was the right guy to deliver in that spot.

Williams pulled a changeup between Beloit first baseman BA Vollmuth and the bag for a two-run single and 4-2 lead.

"That's good for him," said Mauer. "Hopefully it will get him rolling now."

Williams appreciated the skipper giving him a chance with the game on the line, especially since Avila was having a good day.

"That's what I was thinking: Holy cow, he's 2-for-2," Williams remarked. "For him to run me out there in a big situation like that, it says a lot about him."

Williams hit .280 in 80 games for the Kernels last season before being promoted to Fort Myers in the Florida State League. He was ticketed for Fort Myers again this year, but an injury set him back and he's with the Kernels again until the Minnesota Twins decide to promote him again.

"I'm just taking it a day at a time," he said. "I've been struggling lately. I'm just trying to figure a few things out."

Kohl Stewart gave the Kernels another strong outing, but once again got a no-decision after allowing only four hits and one run in six innings.

Stewart has allowed only three earned runs in the last 26.2 innings, but the Kernels have been supporting him with an average of only two runs per game and he's sitting with a 1-1 record after eight starts despite a 2.21 ERA and an opponent batting average of about .185.

Mauer would have liked to keep Stewart in the game beyond the sixth inning, but the Twins have their prized bonus baby on a strict limit of 75 pitches per game. Stewart was throwing free and easy on the warm day and was hitting 94-95-96 on the radar gun in the early innings.

"It looked like he could have gone a long ways," said Mauer.

Alex Muren (1-1) pitched two innings for the victory and Todd Van Steensel finished the game in the ninth inning for his second save. The Kernels (22-23) and Snappers (19-25) finish their three-game series Wednesday night at 6:35.

BELOIT (2): Powell, cf, 4 0 1 0, Boyd, lf, 4 1 1 0, Brugman, rf, 3 0 1 0, Marincov, dh, 4 0 0 0, Vollmuth, 1b, 4 0 2 0, Baez, 3b, 3 1 1 0, Roberts, 2b, 4 0 1 0, Chavez, c, 3 0 0 1, Mercedes, ss, 3 0 0 0. Totals 32 2 7 1.

KERNELS (4): Walker, ss, 5 0 0 0, Vavra, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Christensen, cf, 4 0 1 0, Garver, c, 4 0 0 0, Haar, 3b, 4 0 0 0, Altobelli, 1b, 4 1 1 0, Santy, dh, 3 2 2 0, Thomas, rf, 2 1 2 0, Avila, lf, 2 0 2 1. Totals 32 4 9 3.

Beloit     000 100 100 - 2 7 2

Kernels    010 000 12x - 4 9 1

Trivino, Powers (7), McMullen (7) and Chavez. Stewart, Muren (7), Van Steensel (9) and Garver. W - Muren (1-1). L - McMullen (0-1). S - Van Steensel (2). 2B - Brugman (8), Santy (3). SB - Christensen (11). E - Vollmuth (8), Mercedes (4), Vavra (6). T - 2:30. A - 3,002.