By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
First base was open and there were two outs when Burlington Bees right fielder Cooper Donlin came to the plate in Saturday’s game against the Alton River Dragons.
Alton manager Noah Suarez stepped from the first-base dugout at Community Field and motioned to plate umpire James Cottrell that he wanted to intentionally walk Donlin.
It was a strategic move — it was a tie game, there was a runner in scoring position, Donlin came into the game as the Prospect League’s leading hitter, and he had already hit a run-scoring triple in the game.
It was also the fourth inning.
“Wasn’t that funny?” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “I didn’t think that was going to happen. That’s something I haven’t seen in a little bit.”
“I mean, it was kind of annoying,” Donlin said, smiling. “It’s summer baseball, everybody is here to get reps. But yeah, I guess they have respect for me as a hitter, and it’s something that makes my confidence grow.
It’s the respect that Donlin has earned in his first month in the summer league.
Donlin is hitting .423, second in the league after Sunday’s games. He is second in the league with a .565 on-base percentage, carries a 1.180 OPS, and takes a nine-game hitting streak with him when the Bees start a six-game road trip on Tuesday.
“I just keep telling myself that every day is an opportunity,” said Donlin, who just finished his junior season at Hawaii Pacific University. “And I’m going to come every day to compete.”
It’s that kind of mentality that has Donlin batting fourth in the Bees’ lineup. He has just one home run this season, but Oreskovich knows why he wants Donlin in that spot in the batting order.
“He has an approach every single time he goes up to the plate,” Oreskovich said. “If we’ve got runners in scoring position, he’s trying to do a job. He’s got a ‘team’ approach, and he’s got that approach every single time in the box.”
Donlin is batting .500 in his current hitting streak, including his 2-for-3 night in Saturday’s 12-7 loss in which he reached base in all five trips to the plate.
“I keep telling myself I’m going to win every at-bat,” Donlin said. “And I’m going to catch every ball, get every hit. It’s a game of failure, so you’ve got to be greedy, take your opportunities, get what you can get.”
Donlin is in his third summer of baseball — he’s played in the Texas Collegiate League and the Hamptons Collegiate Summer League.
“It’s helped me a lot — traveling all around the country, seeing different places, meeting different players,” he said. “It shows you can compete at this level, and it shows you who’s out there and the competition you’re going against.”
Donlin hit .313 in 25 games for Hawaii Pacific this season. Since arriving in Burlington, he has impressed Oreskovich with his work off the field.
“He locks in on everything he does,” Oreskovich said. “When we go in the batting cages, he’s doing different things that maybe a lot of other people aren’t doing.”
Donlin has just eight strikeouts with the Bees this season, and he had six in 48 at bats during the spring at Hawaii Pacific.
“He’s got a great eye, too,” Oreskovich said. “He’ll fall into two-strike counts quite often, and he finds a way to work a walk or get a hit or put the ball in play. Not many times is he going to look stupid up there. Pitch recognition, for him, is a giant thing. And he’s really good at it.”
“I’ve always had a good eye, stuff like that,” Donlin said. “But this last year, I’ve tried to take that to the next level with my approach. Keep telling myself over and over, ‘Battle, battle, battle,’ and ‘I’m going to win this.’”
It’s a consistent battle that Donlin knows he has to bring.
“It’s a long summer,” he said. “If you have a bad day, you show up the next day and try again. You just keep showing up.”
Photo: Burlington’s Cooper Donlin hits a triple in Saturday’s game against Alton. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
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