Sky Carp soar to game one victory

BELOIT – The Sky Carp began their postseason run with a 7-1 victory over Cedar Rapids before an enthusiastic throng at ABC Supply Stadium Tuesday night.

The Carp lead the best-of-three series one game to nothing. The two teams will meet Thursday in Cedar Rapids at 6:35 p.m. in game two. If necessary, game three would be played Friday night, also at 6:35.

Wilfredo Lara broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run. After the Kernels tied the game with a two-out run in the fifth, the Sky Carp broke through for an unearned run to take a 2-1 advantage.

With two outs and nobody on in the sixth inning, the Sky Carp saw six straight batters reach base and extended their advantage to 6-1 with four runs. Iva Arquette drove in a pair with a single and Ian Lewis followed with an RBI single of his own to provide the big hits.

Cam Cannarella made another terrific catch in center field, and wasn’t retired in five plate appearances. He singled, doubled, and walked three times. Two of those walks came with the bases loaded to force in a pair of runs.

Aiden May got the start for the Sky Carp and threw 3 2-3 scoreless innings. Juan Reynoso allowed one run an inning-plus and picked up the victory. Joey Viloni was outstanding, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced, and Karson Laws pitched a perfect ninth inning that featured a pair of strikeouts.

Should the Sky Carp win the series in Cedar Rapids, they would take on either West Michigan or Lake County in the Midwest League Finals. West Michigan took the opener by a 7-2 margin.

The series would open at either West Michigan or Lake County on Sunday before transferring to ABC Supply Stadium for game two Tuesday, and game three Wednesday (if necessary).