By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
His family drove 15 hours to watch him play, so Rowen Bergeron put on a show.
And, his family made sure to mention, there was gumbo waiting for him afterwards.
Bergeron hit a pair of two-run home runs to lead the Burlington Bees to a 12-2 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers in the second game of Tuesday’s Prospect League doubleheader at Community Field.
Quincy won the first game 3-2.
Bergeron, who is from Sunset, Louisiana, hit a 386-foot home run to left-center field in the second inning, then connected on a 347-foot homer in the fourth inning to start a five-run outburst that put the Bees (10-13) in control of the game.
“I guess I felt pretty good in there,” said Bergeron, who came into the game having homered in his last at-bat in Saturday’s 10-7 loss at Clinton. “My thing is I think I’m at my best when I don’t try to do too much up there. I’m just up there having fun playing. It’s a kids game, so I’m trying to have some fun and not put pressure on myself, and usually when that happens, good things happen.”
“He’s getting hot right now, which I love to see,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said.
Bergeron went 3 for 3 in the game to lift his batting average to .316 in his first season in a college summer league.
“He’s an extremely hard worker,” Oreskovich said. “I have these light foam balls that we use for training at Mount Mercy, and I brought them here for the guys to use. They ride, which is what you talk about with a fastball-induced vertical brake. He’s been in the cage doing those every single day, working hard, so it’s starting to pay off a little bit, and he’s getting into a little rhythm here, which is nice to see.”
“I’m just looking to improve my mental approach, really,” said Bergeron, who just finished his freshman season at LSU-Eunice. “I work really hard on the physical aspects of the game, and nobody talks about the mental aspects of the game, which is really 90% of the game. This game’s so hard, with a lot of failure, and you know, I think I’m getting better every day with, letting things go and moving on, and trusting my ability. And that’s really what the whole focus of the summer is, is to work on that mental approach.”
Johnnie Ankenbruck, who came into the game with just two hits in 22 at-bats for the season, also had a home run for the Bees, who had nine hits in the second game.
Spencer Spinks (1-0) was the winning pitcher for the Bees in relief of Mitchell Cox, who allowed three hits and two runs in three innings.
Quincy (14-10) won the first game by scoring in the top of the seventh inning. Ben Longoria’s single drove in Ignacio Gonzalez, who doubled with two outs off Bees reliever Talon Jennings (0-2).
The doubleheader started a seven-game homestand for the Bees that will end the first half of the season.
“We feel like it’s starting to come together now,” Oreskovich said. “It kind of feels eerily similar to last summer, and how that first half went and ended, and then we were trending in the right direction going into the second half, which is exactly what we’re trying to do right now.”
KUDRONOWICZ HONORED: Bees first baseman Adam Kudronowicz was named the Prospect League’s Hitter of the Week on Tuesday.
Kudronowicz hit .583 with a league-leading 6 doubles. He had seven hits, scored three runs, drove in six runs, and had a home run. He had a 1.976 OPS for the week.
Photo: Bees second baseman Rowen Bergeron (14) is greeted by Jace Figuereo (24) and the rest of his teammates after hitting one of his two two-run home runs in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
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