The Burlington Bees are going back to the Prospect League playoffs.
The Bees clinched the Northwest Division second-half title with a 15-14 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at QU Stadium in Quincy, Ill.
Burlington completed the sweep of the day with an 11-1 in the second game.
The Bees, who made it to the playoffs last season, finished the regular season with a 34-22 record. They were 23-8 in the second half, winning the division by 2 ½ games over the Clinton LumberKings.
Burlington takes a six-game winning streak into Sunday’s 6:30 p.m. divisional playoff game at Quincy.
The Bees were the home team in the first game of the doubleheader — it was the rescheduled game from Friday’s rainout at Community Field.
Christian Graves’ two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in Lucas Krebs and Troy Peltz with the winning runs.
The Bees scored 11 runs in the third inning, but squandered the lead because of a defense that committed five errors that led to 13 unearned runs for the Doggy Paddlers.
Graves drove in three runs in the game. Krebs was 4 for 4 and drove in two runs.
Jake Weissenberger (2-5) was the winning pitcher, throwing two scoreless innings.
Rowen Bergeron’s grand slam punctuated the Bees’ seven-run third inning in the second game.
Brady Richards (1-0) was the winning pitcher, allowing three hits and striking out four over five innings.
Blake Gaskey’s final pitch of the 89 he threw on Thursday was a called third strike to end the seventh inning.
There was no better way his night could end, in a stadium that has played a big part in his career, for a team and a manager that he knows so well.
And if it’s the last pitch he throws in a game…
“I thought about it,” Gaskey said after his 7-inning, 3-hit performance in the Burlington Bees’ 9-1 win over the Decatur Beanballers. “I thought about last year when I was here too. Same thing. But I mean, honestly, I just try not to make the moment too big.
“Yeah, it’s always fun coming back here, but to think it might be the last one, it is different.”
Gaskey struck out five Beanballers, including Noah Delgado on that pitch in the seventh inning. And he pitched the Bees one step closer to the Prospect League playoffs.
The Bees (32-22 overall, 21-8 second half) have a 1 ½-game lead on the Clinton LumberKings with two games left in the season.
Five years of college baseball for Gaskey ended in May when Northern Illinois was eliminated in an NCAA regional. But it was a phone call he interrupted earlier this season that set in motion his return to Community Field, where he pitched for two seasons at Southeastern Community College and with the Bees last season.
Bees manager Owen Oreskovich had called pitcher Riley Fuller, whom Gaskey had recommended to Oreskovich as a pitcher for the Bees before the season started, and when Gaskey found out who was calling, he had a message for Oreskovich.
“I called Riley about one of his start days, and he was umpiring with Gaskey, and Gaskey got on the phone, and we talked,” Oreskovich said. “He was like, ‘I’ll see you towards the end of the summer.’
“He loves baseball and he loves winning. Any day of the week, I’ll take him.”
“I told Coach O earlier in the summer, even though I graduated, I was trying to bring some guys to help him win,” Gaskey said. “I told him if you need me, just give me a call, and that’s what he did.”
What brought Gaskey back was simple.
“Burlington,” he said, “Being at ‘The Hive,’ playing for Coach O, everyone here on the support staff. I mean, I love it. I had my little stint in Clinton (he pitched for the LumberKings in 2024), but I’ve always come back here.”
Gaskey gave up six runs and eight hits in his first start with the Bees on July 16 at Springfield, a game which turned out to be a 16-7 win.
“I just told (Oreskovich) to keep winning so I can keep playing,” Gaskey said, smiling. “That’s all I care about.”
Gaskey made sure this start was a win. He allowed a single to Will Applegate in the first inning, a solo home run to Hampton Petzka in the third, and a single to Chase Wiese in the sixth.
“Really, I was just kind of working pitches early, working the edges early,” Gaskey said. “That’s been the name of my game for the past five years since I was working with Coach (Justin) Schulte in Southeastern. Just really get on the edges, beat them early, and I’ll be able to do what I want.”
“He did exactly what I expected,” Oreskovich said. “Like I said,he’s a guy you want on your team every day of the week.
“And I’m glad he’s on mine.”
Juan Fernandez watches his single in the first inning, his 65th hit of the season, setting a new franchise Prospect League single-season hits record. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
The Bees chipped away at the Beanballers all game. They had runners on base in every inning except the second.
Burlington got two runs in the first inning. Juan Fernandez singled with one out, his 65th hit with the Bees this season, which set a single-season record for the franchise in the Prospect League. Christian Graves followed with a single, then Adam Kudronowicz’s double scored both runners.
Fernandez and Graves had sacrifice flies in the third to make it a 4-1 game, and Gaskey had plenty of run cushion at that point.
Gaskey has a coaching job lined up for next season — he is going to be an assistant at Black Hawk College in Moline, Ill.
He wouldn’t mind getting a postseason start if the Bees can make a run.
“Of course, I hope to continue playing, but obviously, I’ve already got a coaching job,” Gasket said. “Three to five years from now, I could be fighting for my life (in baseball), still trying to play, or I could be a coach in a winning program. So that’s the goal.”
Top photo: Burlington Bees starter Blake Gaskey allowed just three hits in seven innings in the 9-1 win over Decatur. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Those left in the Community Field seats from the crowd of 800 that showed up for Tuesday’s game made more noise each time Burlington Bees right fielder Kade Knock fought off a pitch to keep his at-bat alive with two outs in the seventh inning.
When Knock finally dumped a single into left field to score Jace Figuereo with the final run, the noise on and off the field gave the win a postseason feel.
OK, so Figuereo’s run ended a 12-2 win by the 10-run rule over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers. Regardless of the extent of the outcome, it had the feel of a pressure situation that the Bees are going to be in for the final three games of the regular season and maybe the Prospect League playoffs next week.
“It was awesome,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “It gets our guys going. The fans have been great this summer, and you can’t thank them enough coming out every game. So, all thanks to them for being behind us all summer. It’s helped us at home a ton.”
It was the 10th consecutive home win for the Bees (31-22 overall, 20-8 second half), who have a 1 1/2-game lead over Normal and a two-game lead over Clinton for the second-half Northwest Division title. Burlington, which has won 14 of its last 15 games overall, has three games remaining — at home against Danville on Thursday, at home against Quincy on Friday, and at Quincy on Saturday.
The Bees won this game with the same relentless approach at the plate they have been showing in the closing weeks. They scored three first-inning runs, then added five in the third. Burlington drew six walks and had five batters hit by pitches, and those free bases were converted into five runs.
“We work on that when we talk during (batting practice),” Oreskovich said. “One of our rounds is hunting pitches that you can do damage on, so it’s cool to see that guys are kind of taking that to heart. When they get those pitches early, they’re trying to get their swing off. But if it’s not there, you know they’re going to take, besides certain situations when you’re trying to put the ball in play and try to get the runner over or an RBI. They’ve taken it and ran with it, and it’s really cool to see.”
The Bees had 12 hits. Juan Fernandez had three hits and drove in four runs. Knock drove in three runs.
Oreskovich was pleased with the spot start given by Ramzy Rodriguez, who has been a reliever. Rodriguez allowed two earned runs over 4 1/3 innings.
“He was probably a little tired there at the end,” Oreskovich said. “But he did a great job of filling in for us.”
Korbin Woerley (2-0) was the winning pitcher, striking out five.
The Bees have Wednesday off — a welcome rest, Oreskovich said. Oreskovich said there were no mandatory workouts planned for the day.
“Some guys may come in,” he said. “But they’ll get a chance to rest their bodies if need be. It’s been a long summer, and these guys have played a lot of games.”
Photo: Burlington Bees right fielder Kade Knock delivers the single that ended Tuesday’s 12-2 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Foti Rigopoulos was the leadoff hitter and the center fielder in the Burlington Bees’ season opener on May 26.
Two months later, he has become a key bullpen arm for the Bees heading into the final week of the regular season.
Rigopoulos was the winning pitcher in Sunday’s 10-4 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers at Community Field, retiring every hitter he faced in the final 3 ⅓ innings.
The Bees (30-22 overall, 19-8 second half) won for the 13th time in their last 14 games, opening up a two-game lead over Clinton for the second-half playoff spot in the Prospect League’s Northwest Division with four games to play.
Pitching was part of the plan all along for Rigopoulos, who sat out this season with Illinois as a freshman before coming to the Bees for the summer.
“We talked about, I don’t know, maybe 2 ½, three weeks ago, getting him on the mound a little more because (Illinois’ coaching staff) wanted him to get innings,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “We had a ton of pitchers early on, and we were in a lot of games that weren’t close, so it was kind of hard to get him out there.”
“It’s been a really cool experience,” Rigopoulos said. “Kind of getting every part of every aspect of summer ball, and it’s been really fun coming out of the bullpen so far.”
Rigopoulos (1-0) made his first appearance for the Bees in a 4-0 loss to Clinton on July 5, when he struck out all three hitters he faced. He has made four appearances as a pitcher, with a 2.84 earned run average and an 0.63 WHIP. He has struck out 10 in 6 ⅓ innings.
“His change-up is one of the best I’ve seen,” Oreskovich said.
Rigopoulos, who was a two-time first-team all-state player at Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, learned the pitch from Anthony Ruden, one of his coaches who worked with him during his high-school career.
“I didn’t really have confidence with it at all,” Rigopoulos said. “And then he told me to just start throwing it, I’ve got nothing to lose. My junior year, I just caught a really good feel for it and stuck with it ever since.”
The plan was for Rigopoulos to pitch in Sunday’s game, but what Oreskovich didn’t plan on was starting pitcher Braden Vanderheydt and reliever Ty Mikkelsen being affected by the heat. The game was played during an excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service, with the game-time temperature at 92 degrees with a heat index of 111 degrees.
Vanderheydt made it through 3 ⅔ innings, but was visited on the mound by Oreskovich and a trainer during Bruce Trzpis’ at-bat in the fourth inning. Vanderheydt struck out Trzpis, but gave up singles to Dean Staudacher and Juan Concepcion and was taken out of the game by Oreskovich.
Mikkelsen got a similar visit in the sixth inning after giving up a single to Concepcion. He came out after a wild pitch with Nick Griffith at the plate one batter later.
“That was tough, and I’m not saying tough from the standpoint of the team — it was tough to see somebody like that with how hot it is,” Oreskovich said. “I’m glad they’re all right. They got cooled down, we got water in them. I’m glad that they’re OK. At that point, I was more worried about them than the game.”
“It was pretty hot out there,” Rigopoulos said. “I was coming into the clubhouse after every inning I was out there to get cooled off.”
Rigopoulos came in after Mikkelsen left, getting Griffith on an infield popout to end the sixth. He then retired the side in order in the final three innings, striking out four.
“Go right at guys, give them my best, and see what their best is,” Rigopoulos said. “That’s my mindset.”
The Bees had three innings in which they scored runs without a hit — one in the second, two in the sixth and three in the eighth. Four Quincy pitchers combined to walk 15 Bees.
“Guys were looking for the pitches to hit, and when they didn’t get them they laid off, and it was good to see that we were patient up there,” Oreskovich said.
Photo: Foti Rigopoulos retired all 10 batters he faced to pick up the win in the Bees’ 10-4 victory over Quincy on Sunday. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Tate Slagle made some noise in his final weekend with the Burlington Bees, and his teammates followed his lead.
Slagle’s three-run home run started a six-run third inning, and the Bees surged to a big lead before holding on for a 13-11 win over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes in Saturday’s Prospect League at Community Field.
The Bees moved back into first place in the Northwest Division heading into the final week of the regular season. This win, combined with Clinton’s 17-6 loss to Illinois Valley, gave Burlington (29-22 overall, 18-8 second half) a one-game lead over the LumberKings. Burlington has five games remaining, four at home, while Clinton has six games, with three of those on the road.
“All we’re worried about is if we win,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “We can’t control what they do. The plan is to keep winning every game we go out there, and hopefully it works out for us in the end.”
Slagle, who will be a sophomore at Iowa in the upcoming season, is leaving the Bees after Sunday’s game against Quincy. The home run he hit off Springfield starter Cobe Ross (1-5) was his first of the season.
Slagle, a two-way player, is hitting .204 with 10 runs batted in. He made seven pitching starts for the Bees, with a 2.59 earned run average over 31 ⅓ innings, allowing 21 hits while striking out 33.
“I think the biggest thing I’ll take away is just friendships — these guys are amazing,” Slagle said. “But I think baseball-wise, I think I got a lot of confidence in the box, even though I didn’t really show that I had confidence with my stats and everything. But I feel pretty comfortable in the box and on the mound too. I feel really comfortable, and I dialed in the (strike) zone this year and kind of got my velo up a little bit, so that was good.”
The Bees trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third. Dalton Miller walked, then Sean Kang was hit by a pitch. Slagle followed with his home run, the Bees’ first hit of the game, and when Troy Peltz would hit a three-run homer later in the inning, Burlington had the lead.
“We were kind of dead, and then I got us started with that home run, and then Troy followed, and then off we went,” said Slagle, who also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Lane Spieker added a three-run home run in a five-run fifth inning as the Bees expanded the lead 13-4, but Springfield wasn’t done.
The Lucky Horseshoes scored two runs in the seventh, three in the eighth, and then two in the ninth. They had runners on first and third with two outs in the ninth before General Schofield grounded out to end the game.
“Late in the season right now, all that matters is winning,” Oreskovich said.
Mitchell Cox (2-2) was the winning pitcher in relief.
“He probably got a little tired there at the end,” Oreskovich said of Cox, who didn’t allow a hit in 3 ⅓ innings before Griffin Novacek’s single started the Springfield seventh inning. “But he did a great job in the middle innings.”
Photo: Tate Slagle (left) and Bees manager Owen Oreskovich celebrate after Slagle’s three-run home run in Saturday’s game. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
It’s that time of the season in the Prospect League when the haves are putting up a lot of runs against the have-nots.
Case in point — the Burlington Bees’ 21-2 win over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes on Tuesday night at Community Field.
The Bees, who won their ninth consecutive game and are percentage points out of the second-half lead in the Western Conference’s Northwest Division, have 38 players on their roster heading into their final nine games of the half. The Lucky Horseshoes, 4 1/2 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference’s Central Division, have just 27.
The discrepancy showed as the Bees pounded Springfield pitching, scoring in every inning except the sixth in a game stopped in the seventh inning by the league’s 10-run rule.
Burlington had 20 hits — all but three were singles — and each starter had at least one hit.
“It’s fun and enjoyable to watch,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “You know, I feel like we’ve been hitting like that the last week and a half, two weeks. It’s very exciting to watch.”
The Bees are a half-game better than the Clinton LumberKings in the standings, but Clinton has the edge in percentage points. The LumberKings (12-7 second half, .706) have played five fewer games than the Bees (15-7, .682). The two teams meet Thursday and Friday in Clinton for the final time in the regular season.
“We’ve got to worry about what we’re doing,” Oreskovich said. “We’ve got two against them later this week, so we could worry about what they’re doing then when we’re playing them. We’re just trying to go out there and win every game we can right now and take our approach that we’ve been taking, and run with it. And it seems like it’s been working, so we’re going to stick with the plan.”
The Bees have outscored their opponents 132-52 in the winning streak. They are hitting .344 in that stretch.
They were relentless in this game, sending nine batters to the plate in the first two innings, 10 batters in the third and fourth inning, and 11 in the fifth.
Rowen Bergeron, one of five players to have three hits in this game, drove in six runs. PJ Hamel drove in four runs. Kolt Kurzman and Tate Slagle each drove in three runs — Slagle was the last Burlington starter to get a hit, clearing the bases with a bases-loaded double in the fifth.
“I feel like they’re all locked in,” Oreskovich said. “They’re ‘playing the game’ too, which is a saying I have. Like, you’ve got a guy at second, we might not have to bunt every single time, we’re going to try to hit the ball the right side, and we’re getting some base hits just trying to do that too. The guys are playing the game at the plate right now, and you know, we’re playing really sound baseball.”
Bees starter Braden Vanderheydt (1-0) took advantage of all of the offense and controlled the Lucky Horseshoes, allowing just two hits and two walks over five innings to get the win. Ty Mikkelsen and Brady Richards finished the final two innings.
Photo: Burlington’s Christian Graves scores one of his five runs in Tuesday’s win over Springfield. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Troy Peltz knew when he went to the plate, but his Burlington Bees teammates were reminding him.
“They were like, ‘Cycle watch. Cycle watch,’” Peltz said, laughing.
Peltz didn’t hit for the cycle in the Bees’ 16-8 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers in Sunday’s Prospect League at Community Field — his home-run bid in the eighth inning fell about 40 feet short — but his three-hit day helped the Bees win the eighth consecutive game and stay a half-game behind the Clinton LumberKings for the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot.
“I feel like we’re getting hot at the right time and everything is coming together,” said Peltz, who drove in five runs in the game.
Peltz, hitting third in the lineup, drove in a run with a double in the fifth, drove in two runs with a triple in the sixth, then added an RBI single in the seventh. All he needed was a home run when he came up in the eighth with the bases loaded and the Bees up 12-8.
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t thinking about (the cycle),” Peltz said. “It was definitely something I was thinking about. I tried for it, but…”
Peltz did hit a fly ball to left field that went 305 feet and was caught by Kamryn Link as Foti Rigopoulos tagged up from third and scored.
Adam Kudronowicz, up next, did get a home run — a 370-feet three-run shot to right field that provided the final margin.
“He finished the cycle for me,” laughed Peltz, who is Kudronowicz’s teammate at Iowa Western Community College. “I guess you can call it the ‘Iowa Western cycle.’”
Troy Peltz watches his double in the fifth inning. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Peltz and Kudronowicz, who also drove in five runs, have been a big part of the middle part of the Bees’ lineup all season.
“It seems like (Peltz) comes up big at all the right times,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “He got that double in the fifth to make it 5-2, and that triple made it (7-5). It seems like he’s coming up at the right times, and he’s a guy you want in those situations.”
The Bees were down 5-1 before they scored three runs in the fifth, four in the sixth, two in the seventh and six in the eighth.
“Earlier in the year, we weren’t taking leads and then finishing them off,” Oreskovich said. “And we’re doing that right now, which is really good to see. I’ve got a great group of guys, and you know, I love all of them and appreciate them being here. So we’re going to make a run at this thing here at the end of the year.”
Johnnie Ankenbruck had a three-hit day out of the eighth spot in the Bees’ lineup, including a solo home run in the seventh inning. Ankenbruck, Jace Figuereo and Juan Fernandez each scored three runs.
Aiden Terronez (2-3) was the winning pitcher, going six innings. Kade LaCoste got the save.
Burlington has Monday off, then begins a week that includes the final games of the season against the LumberKings Thursday and Friday in Clinton.
“We’re just worried about the next game,” Oreskovich said. “You don’t want to look ahead to Clinton and then maybe lose one or two of those games early next week. We can’t do that. So we’re just focused on the game at hand. Obviously we all know that we’ve got them at the end of the week. But we’ll worry about that when we get there.”
“Everybody seems like they’re having fun,” Peltz said. “And that’s when you play your best baseball.”
Top photo: Troy Peltz steals second base in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
The Burlington Bees’ 12-9 win over the Alton River Dragons in Saturday’s Prospect League game at Community Field started late because of rain, and took almost 3 1/2 hours to play.
It wasn’t exciting, but it served its purpose for the Bees (24-21 overall, 13-7 second half), who won their seventh consecutive game. Burlington moved with a half-game of Clinton for the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot.
There was little in the way of offensive fireworks on a night when the Bees held a post-game firework show. The two teams combined for 17 hits, but Burlington pitchers walked 11 River Dragons, while Alton pitchers walked 10 Bees. Throw in seven hit batters and two wild pitches, and whatever traffic clogged the bases for both teams was self-inflicted.
The Bees led 3-1 after the first inning, but neither team had a hit, a sign of what was to come in the game.
Burlington seemed to put itself into position to win by the 10-run rule with a seven-run fourth inning to take a 12-2 lead. But Alton, which has the worst record in the league at 4-39, came back with three runs in the fifth inning, single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, then scored three runs in the ninth before Bees reliever Jake Weissenberger got Charlie Berry to ground into a double play to end the game.
Adam Kudronowicz and Kade Knock each had two hits for the Bees.
Payton Hodges (1-0) was the winning pitcher, while Nick Castellanos (0-2) was the losing pitcher.
The Bees play host to Quincy in Sunday’s 4 p.m. game.
Photo: Bees second baseman Rowen Bergeron tags out Alton’s Caynen Patterson. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Owen Oreskovich has managed the Burlington Bees in the Prospect League long enough to know that, when the final weeks of the season arrive and roster comings and goings begin, there had better be a plan in place to survive the changes.
Lane Spieker was part of that plan.
Spieker, in just his second game with the Bees, had two hits and drove in four runs in the 13-3 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers on Wednesday night at Community Field.
The Bees (21-21 overall, 10-7 second half), who have won four consecutive games, stayed 2 ½ games behind Clinton for the second-half playoff spot in the Northwest Division.
Spieker just finished his junior season at Mount Mercy, where Oreskovich is an assistant coach, and he was one of the three Mustangs Oreskovich wanted for the final days if the Bees were going to make a playoff push, joining outfielder Kade Knock and first baseman Christian Graves.
“It’s huge to get guys like that,” Oreskovich said. “It gets some guys off their feet and gets them some rest. It’s a blessing for us.”
“It’s been super fun,” Spieker said. “Especially getting here right now, being with a bunch of guys that I didn’t know before, and really getting to know them and already having fun with them, being with Coach O and some of my teammates from Mount Mercy, and the people of Burlington really welcomed me. It’s been really fun.”
Spieker hit .313 with 14 home runs and 49 runs batted in for Mount Mercy this season, so Oreskovich knew that plugging him into the lineup in the fifth spot was the right fit.
Spieker had a sacrifice fly in the first inning, drove in two runs with a third-inning triple, then had an RBI single in the sixth.
“It’s nice to see him hitting like that right away,” Oreskovich said.
“It’s just being loose and finding my swing again, and luckily it’s been coming pretty easy so far,” Spieker said. “So yeah, just keeping it all sweet and simple, and just being me.”
Bees shortstop Juan Fernandez extends his hitting streak to 17 games with a sixth-inning double. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Spieker had a lot of traffic in front of him all night.
• Leadoff hitter Jace Figuereo singled twice and walked once.
• Juan Fernandez, hitting in the second spot, walked twice and was hit by a pitch, and scored three runs.
• Graves, hitting third, singled and walked.
• Adam Kudronowicz, hitting fourth, singled, reached on an error, hit a two-run home run in the fourth, and walked in the sixth.
“Fig, he’s always working at bats,” Spieker said. “He’s doing really well. Juan’s really good too. When people in front of me are smashing the ball, that makes my job a lot easier too, because that means they’ve got to come at me, and I’m just going to do my job.”
Fernandez extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He is batting .371 for the season, and .444 in the streak.
“He’s just an incredible baseball player,” Oreskovich said. “He’s simple in everything he does with his approach, and sees the ball well. He’s seeing it well right now, obviously. He’s getting good swings off on pitches. When he does get the two strikes, he’s a tough out. So putting it in play is what he’s doing so well right now.”
Talon Jennings (1-2) was the winning pitcher. Kyle Smith (1-3) was the losing pitcher.
Top photo: Lane Spieker slides into third on his third-inning triple. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Rowen Bergeron is a long way from home, but he brought his power with him.
Bergeron hasn’t been with the Burlington Bees as long as some of the others — there was this little matter of playing in the NJCAA World Series — but in his time with the team has put himself among the Prospect League leaders in home runs.
Bergeron has played in 18 games with the Bees, but is tied for fourth in the league with eight home runs. By contrast, Springfield’s Griffin Novacek, who leads the league with 13 home runs, has played in 33.
Bergeron said his approach at the plate has made a difference.
“I’ve always swung it pretty well,” said Bergeron, a freshman this season at LSU-Eunice who is from Sunset, Louisiana. “I’ve always hit the ball pretty hard, but I think I’ve kind of unlocked a little bit of power when I started relaxing at the plate. What has worked for me is I haven’t been trying to get a hit, but I’ve been trying to hit the ball hard. I can’t really focus on the result or the outcome. All I can focus on is if I hit the ball, they’ve got nine guys out there that are trying to get me out. So all I can do is me versus the pitcher. I’m going to hit the ball hard wherever it goes, and sometimes that’s over the fence.”
Bergeron only had two home runs in 24 games for LSU-Eunice this season, but Bees manager Owen Oreskovich knew he could be a power hitter in the middle of the lineup.
“When I was recruiting him to come here, I looked up his numbers on Prep Baseball Report and they were impressive,” Oreskovich said.
Bergeron didn’t play his first game with the Bees until June 10 — LSU-Eunice had qualified for the NJCAA Division I World Series, where the Bengals’ run ended in three games.
Bergeron then made the 15-hour drive to come to a place where he had never been.
“It was definitely something,” he said of the adjustment. “Obviously, switching to a wood bat, that takes time. But the atmosphere, it’s really not that much different from Louisiana. The food’s a little different, but the people are super nice in Burlington. They’ve kind of welcomed me. My teammates welcomed me. They’re super great, super encouraging, and the transition has been really great.
“I love this place.”
It helped that some of Bergeron’s family came to see him play in a three-day home stretch in late June. They got to see his two-homer game against Quincy in a 12-2 win on June 23, but just having them here meant a lot to Bergeron.
“I mean, they’re driving up here, 15 hours, just coming here for three days,” Bergeron said. “They got to cook me some good Louisiana food, some gumbo. So it was amazing. I got to play in front of them, and they brought my grandma.I was lonesome for them. I’m far from home, so I was glad I got to see them.”
Bergeron has hit .309 for the Bees. He had driven in 21 runs, and scored 21 runs, but his impact has been felt off the field as well, Oreskovich said
“He’s very relaxed,” Oreskovich said. “He doesn’t let the last out bother him, he just gets back at it. So it’s a really, really cool thing to watch. Also, he’s an incredible human being. He’s got the positive vibes in the dugout. He means a lot to this team.”
Bergeron has appreciated the pace of summer baseball, but said the relationships he has made have been just as important. It’s something he has reflected on as the season heads into its final weeks.
“It’s going to be over, and I think about that often,” he said. “I just moved into a (host) family for two months that I love now, and I’m going to leave, and I might not see them again for a long time. I love them — they’ve been taking care of me for two months, so it’s kind of going to be hard to tell them goodbye. The relationships I built over here at the ballpark … summer ball is a crazy thing. You make best friends, and then it’s over.”
Bergeron is going to head back to LSU-Eunice to contend for a starting spot, and hopes to attract the attention of four-year schools.
“It gets super intense in the South,” said Bergeron, who grew up as an LSU fan. “Obviously, we’re big into sports — we’ve got LSU and we’re in the Southeastern Conference and all that. Sports is just massive over there. It’s sweltering. It’s humid. It’s intense. But I mean, that’s where I grew up. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love it.”
He’s gotten to experience the sports interest in Iowa living with Matt and Anika McVey, his host parents. Matt is a big Iowa fan, Bergeron said, and he’s found that out being in their home.
“The room I’m living in is just decorated with Iowa stuff,” Bergeron said, laughing. “But I think I’ll slip something from LSU in there before I leave.”
Photo: Rowen Bergeron watches one of the eight home runs he has hit for the Burlington Bees this season. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
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