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They say pitching and defense wins games at playoff time and that certainly was the case in Clinton Monday night, where the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Clinton Lumber Kings not only needed 11 innings to determine a winner, but just as many innings just to see a run tallied. In the end it was Clinton taking the 1-0 win in the deciding game 3 of the West Division series and advancing to the Midwest League’s Championship series against the winner of Tuesday night’s deciding game between West Michigan and Great Lakes.Let’s let Kernels manager Jake Mauer tell the story of the game. “Pitching duel, back and forth. They had chances, we had chances. They caught the ball, we caught the ball. Comes down to the ball finds a hole and the young man puts a good swing on it and that’s it. It’s a tough one. It’s sad that our season had to end on that last game like that.” Mauer was, nonetheless, very proud of his team’s performance this season. “One hundred percent. Those kids battled and competed, gave themselves a chance. It just comes down to one run here or there and that’s just kind of how baseball goes.” Four Kernels pitchers held Clinton scoreless through 10 2/3 innings, but Ricky Eusebio’s line shot to left-center drove in Logan Taylor for the winning – and only – run of the game in the home half of the 11th inning. Sean Poppen got the start for the Kernels and worked five shutout innings, surrendering just three hits without walking a batter, before turning the game over to Michael Cederoth to begin the bottom of the sixth inning. While Poppen struck out three Clinton batters in his five innings, Cederoth matched that total in his first stanza on the mound. Before his night was over the 6 foot 6 inch righthander sent five batters back to the dugout in two innings of shutout relief work. Tom Hackimer relieved Cederoth to begin the eighth inning and gave up just one hit, striking out a pair, in 2 1/3 innings. With a pair of lefties coming up with one out in Clinton’s 10th inning, Lefty reliever Anthony McIver relieved Hackimer and retired both left-handers to end the stanza. McIver was tagged with the loss, however, giving up three singles, including the game-winner, in the 11th. The Kernels had plenty of scoring opportunities throughout the game, despite notching only four hits on the night. Travis Blankenhorn led off the visitors’ fifth inning with a soft line drive double down the left field line and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Clinton shortstop Rayder Ascanio nearly single-handedly squelched that threat, however, making a diving stop on a sharp ground ball by J.J. Fernandez and snaring a line drive off the bat of Nelson Molina. Jaylin Davis struck out to end the inning, stranding Blankenhorn at third base. In the Kernels’ eighth inning, Fernandez led off with a single, was bunted to second, moved to third on a ground out to the first baseman, but was left there when Kevin Garcia grounded out to end the inning. In the ninth, Casey Scoggins singled to start the inning with a single to right field and, after a fly out, Arraez walked. Matt Walker entered to pitch for Clinton and threw his first pitch to the backstop, allowing both Cedar Rapids runners to advance. Walker then intentionally walked Blankenhorn to load the bases, but Fernandez popped up to shallow right centerfield to end that threat. The Kernels failed to record a hit in extra frames, however, and now they’ll pack their bags and head home for the winter. Click here to view the article

The MLB Draft resumes today at 12:00 (central time) with each organization making their 3rd round through 10th round draft picks. The Minnesota Twins will have the fifteenth pick in each round. Throughout the day, I will be here posting the Minnesota Twins draft picks and providing some analysis on the player and the selection.Information will be added in spurts, so keep refreshing! 3rd Round (93; $645,500) - RHP Griffin Jax, RHP Jax is an interesting pick to kick off the second day of the draft. The 6-2, 200 lb righty is the first ever player from the Air Force Academy selected in the Top 10 rounds. A junior, there is talk that there must be some sort of a military commitment or a high price tag. How does that effect Jax's ability to sign a professional contract and pitch? That's something that we'll have to find out. As far as ability goes, though, Jax has it with a three-pitch mix that features a low-to-mid 90s fastball, a low-80s slider and a low-80s changeup. He threw 105 innings, so the Twins - if they have him - would have him throwing very little before next year anyway. His father, Garth, was a NFL linebacker. Update: Twins feel confident they can sign Jax, though they are prepared for him to have to finish his military obligations, be unavailable until next May and, hopefully, go into reserves. There's little concern about him not being in shape when they can get their hands back on him because, as my source tells me, "finger tip push ups." Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 100; MLB.com, 82; Perfect Game, 125. 4th Round (123; $477,900) - RHP Thomas Hackimer, St. John's (SR) You can all stop holding your breath: The Twins drafted a college reliever. Hackimer is a side-arming unhittable relief pitcher. His numbers were eye-popping: WHIP and ERA are both under 0.75. He does it with a two-pitch mix: a low-90s fastball and a low-80s "frisbee" slider. Hackimer, the first relief pitcher to be named Big East Pitcher of the Year since 2005, will be the first member of this draft class to pitch for the Twins, which could be as soon as next year. Here is an interesting write-up on Hackimer. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 191; MLB.com, 174; Perfect Game, 152. 5th Round (153; $357,800) - RHP Jordan Balazovic, Ontario HS I put a Canadian pitcher in my 10-round mock, but didn't have the right guy. Balazovic is another high-schooler, though the Auburn commit has another year left of high school (what comes after senior year? Super senior year) and can re-enter the draft the team can't meet his demands. I don't think that should be a problem at this point. Balazovic is young (still 17) and raw, but the 6-3, 170 lb right-hander hits 92 mph with his fastball. He also throws a changeup and breaking ball. There is a lot of projection left, so file Balazovic under "projectable." Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 134; MLB.com, 127; Perfect Game, unranked. 6th Round (183; $267,800) - RHP Alex Schick, California A high school teammate of Stephen Gonsalves and Brady Aiken, Schick missed most of his junior season with a dislocated kneecap. He returned at the end of season, throwing a low-90s fastball and a curveball that is his best pitch. While draft previews project him best a reliever, the early word is that he'll "probably" begin his professional career as a starter. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 498; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, unranked. 7th Round (213; $200,900) - CF Matt Albanese, Bryant University A 6-2, 200 lb athlete with power, Albanese has been a three-year starter at Bryant University. In 142 career games, Albanese only struck out 59 times. In comparison, he walked 57 times. As a junior, Albanese walked 28 times and struck out 15 times. He hit 11 home runs and stole 15 bases. While the hit tool is present against weaker competition, there is some question about how the bat will transfer to pro ball. The Twins obviously believe in the bat and approach enough, which makes five hitters in the first nine picks. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 431; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, 237. 8th Round (243; $178,200) - OF Shane Carrier, Fullerton College (Junior College) Carrier is a power bat. Here's some video. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, unranked; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, unranked. 9th Round (273; $166,300) - C Mitchell Kranson, Cal (SR) Kranson is a senior sign who will join the organization as a catcher after playing most infield for the Golden Bears. Undersized but with a decent bat. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, unranked; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, unranked. 10th Round (303; $156,600) - SS Brandon Lopez, Miami (SR) Light-hitting shortstop, who can stick. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 432; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, 466. Click here to view the article