[rink23]

Record: 78-47, 1st, 6 GA Kansas City
Scoreless through eight innings, Cedar Rapids busted loose for three runs in the top of the ninth inning and rode that to a 3-1 win over St. Louis in the second game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium (1997).
The Golden Grapplers got 5.2 scoreless innings out of starter Rick Atkinson, and 2.1 more from five relievers, while St. Louis starting pitcher Adonis Medina silenced Cedar Rapids for seven innings.
But that finally changed in the ninth.
Jerrion Ealy opened the inning with a single off Walkers reliever Tony Ramirez, who followed that by issuing a walk to Jose Leyva.
Jose Alvarado replaced Ramirez, but didn't bring anything to the mound with him.
Lewis Brinson greeted him with an RBI single.
With Mark Vientos at the plate, Alvarado uncorked a wild pitch to put runners at second and third.
Vientos then lifted a fly ball deep enough to score Leyva.
Alvarado followed that with a walk to Terrin Vavra to load the bases.
Ricky Cisneros took over, but allowed a single to James Gamble to make it 3-0.
St. Louis' Carlos Vidal did hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth, but it didn't really matter.
Atkinson worked 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits.
Drake Fellows finished off the sixth inning.
Evan Steele (0.1 IP) and Evan Palmer (0.2) combined to pitch the seventh inning.
Danny Schaeffer (0.2) and Steven Brault (0.1) did the same in the eighth.
Brault (3-6) did come out of it with the win.

The ninth belonged to Mauricio Cabrera, who earned his 15th save.