By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
It was the perfect bridge to the finish.
The Burlington Bees needed five good innings of pitching to finish off Danville in Wednesday’s Prospect League game at Community Field, and they got it.
Four relievers held the Dans scoreless over those final innings on the way to a 6-4 win.
Zach Leuschen (1-0) pitched the fifth inning. Drew Martin pitched the sixth and seventh. Chase Golden got the eighth, and Jake Jakubowski got the ninth, closing out the game for his third save.
Combined, they allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out eight.
“We had a plan,” said Bees manager Owen Oreskovich. “We knew D-Mart would throw today. We knew Leuschen would be a good follow to (starter) Rem (Maxwell) — different arm slots. You’re going to throw JJ in that spot anyway — he’s thrown two days in a row, so he would have to sit tomorrow anyway, so that wasn’t a concern (the Bees have an off-day). And Golden’s done a hell of a job.”
Everything worked.
“It was just getting our secondary stuff over for strikes, that really helped,” said Martin, who struck out three. “I threw my slider, I got it over for a strike a lot. I kind of worked backwards, threw my fastball with two strikes. And I was pretty successful with that.”
Maxwell, who struck out five in four innings, threw 80 pitches, closing in on the league’s 95-pitch limit. That set Oreskovich’s plan in motion.
Leuschen and Jakubowski had the only walks among the four relievers.
“It’s really just going after guys, getting ahead in the count as fast as you can,” Martin said. “And then limiting the walks, the free passes, because the free passes always turn into runs. If you’re going to get beat, have them beat you with your best.”
The Bees, 2-1 in the second half, were coming off a 4-0 win over Clinton on Tuesday in which four pitchers combined on a five-hitter
“We’ve been throwing with a lot of confidence, especially the last two games,” Martin said.
“I wish we could score a few more runs as the game goes along,” Oreskovich said. “Makes the game go easier. But that was a great pitching performance, from the bullpen especially.
“It’s huge for those guys’ confidence, and for our team.”
The Bees got all of their runs in the first three innings. Tanner Holland scored on a balk in the first inning, Corey Boyette had a two-run single in the second, and Jaden Hackbarth drove in three runs with a third-inning double.
Carter Heninger (1-2) was the losing pitcher.
ON DECK: The Bees have Thursday off before playing host to the Quincy Gems in a 6:30 p.m. game Friday.
NOTES: Danville assistant coach Ron Polk was ejected in the second inning by plate umpire David Schwartz. Polk is a legendary college coach, having won 1,373 games in his career, taking eight teams to the College World Series. … Boyette has had a hit in his first four games with the team, hitting .333 since his arrival. … Bees first baseman Keanu Spenser has hit in his last four games, going 6-for-16. … Bees designated hitter Mason Schwalbach has a three-game hitting streak, going 5-for-12. … Bees second baseman Caleb Wulf has five hits in his last 10 at-bats.
Photo: Bees reliever Drew Martin struck out three in two innings. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
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