By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
It’s as if the Burlington Bees are climbing a mountain that doesn’t have a summit.
The 12-7 loss to the Alton River Dragons in Saturday’s Prospect League game at Community Field was the Bees’ sixth consecutive defeat, and it was just as frustrating as all of the others.
The Bees (5-17) led 1-0 after the first inning, then spent the rest of the game chasing the River Dragons (11-11), who kept stacking runs every time there was a Burlington rally.
The Bees had eight hits, six coming from the top four hitters in the lineup, and had runners on base in every inning except the ninth.
And when Burlington got to within 8-7 heading into the top of the ninth, it appeared as if there was a chance for a final rally.
Instead, the River Dragons opened the inning with back-to-back singles from Cooper Howell and Justin Santoyo. Jordan Aguallo followed with a bunt that pitcher Kyle Looper fielded, but his throw to first sailed into right field and Howell and Santoro scored. Alton would add two more runs, then reliever Harrison Dubois retired the side in the ninth to finish the win.
Cooper Donlin continued his hot hitting for the Bees. Donlin extended his hitting streak to nine games by going 2-for-3. Donlin, who leads the league in hitting with a .423 batting average, reached base in all five plate appearances.
Merrick Mathews had two hits and drove in a run for the Bees.
Aidan Adams (1-1) was the winning pitcher. Jacob Sjuts (0-2) took the loss.
The Bees play host to Illinois Valley in Sunday’s 2 p.m. game before going on a week-long road trip.
Photo: Burlington’s Cooper Donlin slides into third base with a first-inning triple in Saturday’s game. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
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