By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Chase Golden came to the Burlington Bees looking for some summer innings.
The right-hander from Western Illinois University has gained an education on being a reliever in high-leverage situations, and has become an important part of the Bees’ bullpen bridge in the late innings.
Golden is 1-1 in 11 appearances with a 5.27 earned run average. But he has recovered from a slow start to post some impressive numbers.
Golden had a 14.40 ERA with 13 walks and seven strikeouts in five innings in his first four appearances on the season. But over his last seven appearances, Golden has walked just three and struck out 15 in 8 ⅔ innings, not allowing an earned run.
“I mean, it was a rough start but it got a lot better,” Golden said. “It’s been a lot better recently, focusing on just getting in the strike zone.”
Now he’s become a key part of the Bees’ middle relief group, getting crucial innings.
“I like throwing in high-leverage situations,” Golden said. “It’s my game. I feel when it’s not a high-leverage situation, it’s harder to be as locked in. But I just love the pressure.”
“We just worked on getting him confidence,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “He’s got great stuff, but he struggled a bit early in the season. So we started using him in certain spots, allowing him to get an inning here and there, and it’s worked for him.”
Control, Golden said, was a big factor. He was the starting pitcher in the Bees’ June 3 loss to Illinois Valley, walking six in two innings. Two appearances later, in a June 10 loss at Springfield, Golden walked six in 1 ⅓ innings and allowed five runs in the 10-1 defeat.
But after giving up three runs in ⅔ of an inning in an 11-6 loss at Quincy, Golden hasn’t given up an earned run.
“After my first couple outings where I was missing the zone a lot, I started throwing off a mound pretty much every day,” Golden said. “Just throwing off a mound, getting a feel for the slope, and that’s really translated well for me since then.”
“He’s pitching with a lot of confidence now,” Oreskovich said.
That showed in the Bees’ 6-3 win over Illinois Valley on Saturday night. Golden entered the game in the fifth inning and after getting the first out, walked two hitters sandwiched around an infield single. But Golden struck out Jake Ferguson, then appeared to have struck out Alton Gyselman to end the inning, but an appeal on the checked swing went in Gyselman’s favor. Golden then came back to get Gyselman on a called third strike, giving out a yell in celebration before heading off the mound.
“Goldie did good for his one inning,” Oreskovich said.
Golden pitched just 18 ⅔ innings as a freshman at Western Illinois this season, going 0-1 with a 12.54 ERA. He found out about the Bees through teammate Jacob Greenan, who played in Burlington in 2021.
“I just wanted to pitch, throw some innings,” he said.
The experience Golden got with the Leathernecks this season, he said, was important.
“It was just learning how to play college baseball, just because it’s so different from playing in high school,” Golden said. “How to pitch. When to throw certain pitches. How to attack, how to get ahead of certain hitters.”
Golden made appearances in games against Missouri, Texas Tech and Michigan State, as well as in three games against Summit League champion Oral Roberts, which advanced to the College World Series.
“It was great to see good competition,” Golden said. “Pitching against those older guys really made me a better pitcher, I think. And I think that’s helping me this summer and hopefully translates into next season.”
Golden went into the summer not knowing who his new coach at Western Illinois was going to be. Terry Davis was named the Leathernecks’ coach last week, replacing interim coach Tayler Sheriff.
“I thought about (the coaching change) a lot,” Golden said. “I’m happy with how it ended up. I’m ready to go into battle with Coach Davis and see what the Leathernecks can do next season.”
The goal, Golden said, is to continue to build on the momentum he’s picked up in the last three weeks.
“I just want to continue to pound the strike zone,” Golden said. “I would like to keep learning on how to put hitters away for the rest of the summer, and to carry that into next spring.”
Photo: Bees reliever Chase Golden hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last seven appearances. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
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