Metro Sports Report

Walker's hit lifts Kernels in 9th

For the second straight night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels showed their flare for the dramatic, beating the Beloit Snappers 6-5 on a walk-off double by Adam Brett Walker.

The crowd of 2,714 at Veterans Memorial Stadium saw Walker lace a line drive to centerfield that got past the diving effort of Beloit's Dayton Alexander. Niko Goodrum scampered home from second base with the game-winning run.

“I was looking for a fastball over the plate, something up,” explained Walker after the game. “I got a pitch out over the plate and was able to hit it in to center. Just tried to get a base hit and it won a ballgame.”

Walker, who leads the minor leagues in RBIs with 104, had several earlier opportunities to put the Kernels on the board. He went to the plate three times in the first eight innings with runners in scoring position, leaving the runners where they stood in each instance.

Local players in pro baseball

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Chicago Cubs) - Placed on disabled list June 30 with fractured rib. Expected to return Sept. 1. Season stats: G - 44, Avg. - .295, AB - 112, H - 33, HR - 4, RBI - 15, SB - 1.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers)) - Started in right field Thursday and was 1-for-4 with two stolen bases in the Quakes' 2-1 loss to High Desert. Season stats: G - 108, Avg. - .305, AB - 413, H - 126, HR - 25, RBI - 80, SB - 15.

KELLEN SWEENEY (Jefferson, Lansing (Blue Jays)) - Started at third base Thursday and was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the Lugnuts' 2-1 win over West Michigan. Season stats: G - 98, Avg. - .183, AB - 312, H - 57, HR - 5, RBI - 27, SB - 1.

ANDREW HANSE (Linn-Mar, Bowling Green (Rays)) - Pitched one scoreless inning in relief Thursday and struck out two in the Hot Rods' 6-4 win over Fort Wayne. Season stats: W - 1. L - 0. Sv - 0. ERA - 0.90. G - 5. IP - 10. H - 1. BB - 0. SO - 13.

CHAD CHRISTENSEN (Washington, GCL Twins (Twins)) - Started at third base Thursday and was 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Twins' 6-4 loss to the GCL Rays. Season stats: G - 37, Avg. - .225, AB - 129, H - 29, HR - 1, RBI - 17, SB - 3.

JON KELLER (Xavier, GCL Orioles (Orioles)) - Did not pitch Thursday in the Orioles' 5-3 win over the GCL Red Sox. Season stats: W - 1. L - 0. Sv - 0. ERA - 2.79. G - 4. IP - 9.2. H - 9. BB - 0. SO - 9.

'Air Marion' could be taking flight

The Marion Indians ended the 2012 football season with a 28-13 loss to DeWitt Central in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs on Oct. 29.

Almost immediately, Marion quarterback Trevor Hardman began preparing for the 2013 campaign.

"I kept throwing, even though the season was over last year," Hardman said Tuesday afternoon. "I kept throwing and kept throwing. I really haven't stopped throwing since the fall."

That could be a harbinger of things to come for the Indians, who relied primarily on their running game the last three seasons.

Atherton sharp in Kernels win

For much of the first half of the season, it seemed like the Cedar Rapids Kernels were winning ballgames with dramatic ninth-inning heroics at least once a week. From that perspective, Wednesday night's walk-off 3-2 victory over the Beloit Snappers, thanks to a Tyler Grimes game-winning RBI single, looked very familiar to Kernels fans.

But what many of the 1,952 fans that attended the game at Veterans Memorial Stadium might not have found so familiar was how the Kernels got into position to win that game.

A few short weeks ago, Tim Atherton was a reliable member of the Kernels relief pitching corps and Mason Melotakis took the mound every sixth game as one of the teams' top starting pitchers. However, in the topsy-turvy world of minor league baseball, where parent organizations carefully monitor how many innings young pitching arms accumulate during a season, roles can change quickly.