THE MONDAY HIVE: Bees Were Ready To Come Home

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Their seven-games-in-six-days odyssey complete, the Burlington Bees headed up the hill to get out of Normal’s Corn Crib and get on the bus for one final time.

The Bees split a doubleheader with the Normal CornBelters on Sunday, losing the first game 5-3 and winning the second 15-5, completing a 2-5 road trip that included more than 1,500 miles of travel, games in four different states, and one bus breakdown on an Ohio interstate that left the team stranded for almost three hours.

“That was a long trip, man,” sighed Bees manager Owen Oreskovich as we watched his team walk across the artificial turf to the outfield exit.

“It’s been a lot,” said third baseman Connor Laeng. “But to finish with a win, it feels pretty good.”

The Bees left home last Tuesday morning in first place in the Prospect League’s Great River Division and on a four-game winning streak. But after a 14-8 win at Lafayette on Tuesday night, the Bees:

— Lost 20-1 at Champion City on Wednesday.

— Lost 11-10 to Johnstown on Thursday after rallying from a 10-0 deficit to tie the game, only to give up a run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

— Lost 8-3 to Johnstown on Friday.

— Lost 8-4 to Champion City on Saturday after being stuck along the highway waiting for a new bus after their bus suffered a severe mechanical issue.

— Led 2-0 early in Sunday’s first game before giving up three runs in the third inning and two in the fourth.

Then came the second game, when the Bees struck for six runs in the second inning, then added four runs each in the fourth and fifth innings.

“I thought in most of the games, we were doing some things right, we were just behind early,” Oreskovich said. “Guys fought in that last game, and I’m glad they did that. 

“The Lafayette game was really good for us, and I thought it was going to take a different turn for us this trip. We were very not good against Champion City — we got smacked around by them and I kind of lit into our guys a little bit. Then we come out in the first game against Johnstown and fell behind again.”

Laeng was one of the offensive standouts of the second game, going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs.

Laeng closed the road trip going 6-of-11 in the last three games, a bright spot in a season in which he has struggled to hit the ball. He opened the season without a hit in his first 35 at-bats, and he had just two hits all season heading into the road trip. 

“Obviously I didn’t get off to a good start,” Laeng said. “But it was nice to finally find some holes.”

Such a cold streak left Laeng looking for answers.

“It’s been tough,” Laeng said. “Talked a lot to my parents, talked to a lot of different people.

“It was a grind, I won’t lie.”

This whole week was a grind for every Bee. And yet, Burlington comes home 6-6, a half-game out of the division’s second-half playoff spot. They see the two teams ahead of them in the standings for that spot — Quincy and Illinois Valley — five times in the next five days.

The Bees complete a suspended game with Quincy on Monday at Community Field before playing a seven-inning regularly-scheduled game. They play host to Illinois Valley on Tuesday, then after an off-day play at Illinois Valley Thursday and Friday.

“We’re still in a good spot,” Laeng said.

Then he smiled.

“Just looking forward to getting home,” Laeng said.

“Let these guys get into the beds they’ve been sleeping in all season and relax a little bit,” Oreskovich said. “Then let’s get back at it tomorrow.”