![Dalton Hicks is greeted at home plate by his Kernels teammates after slugging a three-run home run in the sixth inning of Sunday's game against Peoria at Perfect Game Field. Hicks drove in six runs, but Peoria rallied for five runs in the ninth inning and beat the Kernels, 10-9. (Photo by Ken Gilchrist)](/images/resized/images/photos/kernels/06_200_257.jpg)
Chiefs 'slam' pennant door shut on Kernels
The Cedar Rapids Kernels came so close to winning the pennant for the first half of the Midwest League season Sunday.
They could taste it.
The Kernels owned a 9-5 lead over the Peoria Chiefs with one out in the top of the ninth, thanks to a three-run homer and six RBIs by Dalton Hicks.
Meanwhile, the Beloit Snappers were losing their game to Clinton in the bottom of the eighth inning in Wisconsin.
If both games had ended there -- with Cedar Rapids winning and Beloit losing -- the Kernels would have claimed the Western Division pennant.
The Father's Day crowd of 3,302 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium was ready to celebrate. The television cameras were ready to capture the moment. And then disaster struck.
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