Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Aaron Slegers was not happy with himself after he was torched by the Quad Cities River Bandits in his last outing May 22.

The 6-foot-10 right-hander from Arizona felt a lot better Wednesday night after a strong performance against Wisconsin in a 5-2 victory before 1,143 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Slegers allowed only three hits and one run in six innings as the Kernels (25-28) won their second game in a row.

Slegers gave up 10 runs on 14 hits in just three innings against the River Bandits six days ago in a forgettable game. He looked like a different guy Wednesday, raising his record to 5-2 and dropping his ERA to 4.95.

"The last three or four games, he's had a tough go," said Cedar Rapids Manager Jake Mauer. "It was good to see the guy that we saw most of April there."

Slegers said he learned a valuable lesson during that game against the Quad Cities.

"Always be aggressive early in the count with the fastball," he said. "Don't try and nibble the strike zone. That outing really served as fuel for the week to get out there again."

Mauer liked the way Slegers went about his business against the Timber Rattlers (24-28).

"He was just more aggressive," said Mauer. "He pitched inside better than he did. He used his fastball more instead of trying to trick a lot of people. It was good to see.

"When you go through those ups and downs, it's just part of taking the ball when it's your turn. He's going to make a bunch of starts, and some days you're going to have pretty good stuff and sometimes not so much.

"But as a starter, you have a responsibility to the rest of your team to go out there and do what you can. He was pretty good tonight."

Alex Muren pitched two scoreless innings for the Kernels. He struck out four batters and allowed three hits.

Todd Van Steensel pitched the ninth inning for Cedar Rapids. He gave up a solo home run to Jose Pena before finishing the 5-2 victory.

The Kernels grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second inning on a double by Bryan Haar, a triple by Jason Kanzler and a sacrifice fly by Michael Quesada. Kanzler gave the Kernels a 3-1 lead in the third inning with an RBI double, driving in Mitch Garver.

Cedar Rapids made it 5-1 in the sixth inning on back-to-back doubles by Bo Altobelli and Quesada and an RBI single by Ryan Walker. Walker, Haar, Kanzler and Quesada had two hits to pace an 11-hit attack.

The Kernels and Timber Rattlers meet again Thursday night at 6:35 at the stadium.

WISCONSIN (2): Davis, cf, 3 0 1 0, Halcomb, 1b, 4 0 1 0, Coulter, dh, 3 0 0 0, Ratterree, rf, 4 0 0 0, Brennan, 3b, 4 0 0 0, Pena, lf, 4 2 3 1, Castillo, 2b, 4 0 1 1, Neda, c, 2 0 1 0, Ortega, ss, 4 0 0 0. Totals 32 2 7 2.

KERNELS (5): Walker, ss, 4 0 2 1, Vavra, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Christensen, rf, 4 0 1 0, Garver, dh, 3 1 1 0, Haar, 3b, 4 1 2 0, Kanzler, cf, 4 1 2 2, Altobelli, 1b, 4 1 1 0, Quesada, c, 3 1 2 2, Thomas, lf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 32 5 11 5.

Wisconsin     010 000 001 - 2 7 1
Kernels       021 002 00x - 5 11 0

Gainey, Martin (6) and Neda. Slegers, Muren (7), Van Steensel (9) and Quesada. W -Slegers (5-2). L - Gainey (1-3). 2B - Haar (9), Kanzler (5), Altobelli (6), Quesada (6). 3B - Castillo (1), Kanzler (4). HR - Pena (5). SB - Christensen (14), Walker (2). E - Gainey (2). T - 2:53. A - 1,143.