BEES 7, CORNBELTERS 4: Meyer Steps In For A Grand Slam

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

It was a crazy story, Burlington Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said.

Oreskovich said that Bees pitching coach Tyler Richards had a prediction before Monday’s Prospect League game against the Normal CornBelters at Community Field.

“He says he thinks Nick Meyer is hitting a home run today,” Oreskovich said.

There was a problem, though.

Meyer wasn’t in the starting lineup.

“(Richards) said, ‘Pinch hit,’” Oreskovich said.

So, of course, Meyer gets into the game and hits a grand slam in the fifth inning to give the Bees a 7-4 win.

“When he hit, I pointed right to (Richards) in the dugout,” Oreskovich said, laughing.

Meyer’s first home run of the season came at the perfect time for the Bees (5-11), who had let a 3-0 lead slip away when the CornBelters scored two runs in the fourth inning and two in the fifth.

Meyer wasn’t in the game to start, but he came in after starting catcher Tucker Gibbar went out with a cramp after a single in the fourth inning. Meyer came to the plate with two outs in the fifth, and pounded a pitch from Normal reliever Zach O’Donnell (1-1) over the left-field fence.

“He got it good,” Oreskovich said.

“Just be ready to go and be aggressive early,” Meyer said of his approach. “I got my pitch and didn’t miss it.”

Oreskovich is Meyer’s hitting coach at Mount Mercy, so he knows what Meyer can do, although Meyer didn’t get too many chances this spring. He was a backup catcher behind starter Trent Hoogerwerf, and only had two hits in 17 at-bats.

“He just kind of sat back and learned and listened,” Oreskovich said. “I think it was the best thing for him and I think it’s a good thing for us going into school next year.”

“You’ve got to work really hard, earn everything, earn your spot,” Meyer said. “You’ve got to come out here and compete.”

Meyer is hitting .323 for the Bees this summer, but it’s not just his approach at the plate that Oreskovich likes.

“I just love the way he’s catching right now,” Oreskovich said. “The way he is back there, it’s huge.

“And then his at-bats. He’s not taking anything for granted. He’s going up there with a job-to-do mentality, just like if we were at school.”

“It’s amazing,” Meyer said. “I’m getting a lot of confidence. I feel good at the plate.”

The Bees took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Cedric Dunnwald was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the first run, then Boston Halloran added a sacrifice fly.

Reese Moore’s single in the second inning drove in Jackson Reid for a 3-0 lead, but the CornBelters (8-11) finally got to Bees starting pitcher Noah Harbin in the fourth inning.

Harbin had faced the minimum through the first four innings, but Normal got two unearned runs off him in a four-hit inning. Will Jesske’s double off Bees reliever Zach Leuschen in the fifth put the CornBelters up 4-3.

Leuschen (1-1) pitched 2 ⅔ scoreless innings after that, then Jack Duncan got his second save by pitching out of a bases-loaded situation in the ninth.

“Harbin did a great job,” Oreskovich said. “Leuschen did a phenomenal job after he settled in. Duncan was great — he pitched himself into a little jam there, and then he got his outs.”

The Bees have split their last four games after going through a four-game losing streak, but Oreskovich likes the way his team is developing.

“Guys are getting their at-bats, and they’re starting to get comfortable,” Oreskovich said. “I mean, it feels like it’s right there. Sometimes in games there are one or two things that don’t go your way, and that kind of decides what happens. It’s just the way it goes.

“Our guys are putting their work in — it’s not like they’re sitting at home and waiting to come to the ballpark at 3 o’clock. I like to see that.”

“We’re starting to have a lot more fun playing,” Meyer said. “We’re playing as a team now. We’re putting good at-bats together, good things are starting to happen, and we’re having fun.”

Photo: Nick Meyer makes contact on his fifth-inning grand slam. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)