By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Lucas Krebs flipped his bat away and raised his fist in celebration toward the Burlington Bees’ dugout as he headed to first base to conclude a furious comeback.
Krebs’ bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning brought in Tate Slagle with the winning run as the Bees defeated the Clinton LumberKings 6-5 in Thursday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.
The Bees (15-16 overall, 4-2 second half) won their fourth consecutive game, moving into the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot, a half-game behind the first-half champion Quincy Doggy Paddlers for the division lead.
The winning streak comes after a three-game losing skid that dampened the start of the second half.
“We brought the guys in on Monday for an optional workout, and almost everybody on the team came, and it was good vibes,” said pitching coach Tyler Nagelbach, who took over after manager Owen Oreskovich was ejected in the third inning. “Got a lot of good work in, and then everything started rolling.”
The Bees, who trailed 5-2 in the eighth inning, tied the game on Adam Kudronowicz’s RBI single and Troy Peltz’s two-run home run.
Tate Slagle then walked with one out in the ninth inning to set up the final part of the rally. Slagle stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error, then Jace Figuereo and Juan Fernandez were intentionally walked. Krebs then walked on a 3-1 pitch from Clinton reliever Jai Jensen (2-1) to end the game.
“You put the pressure on them, they’ve got to walk guys, pitch around guys, and you’re putting the pressure on defensively,” Nagelbach said. “So then pitcher got a little sped up, and you know, the rest is history.”
Jake Weissenberger (1-3) pitched two scoreless innings to get the win.
“Jake Weisse, like always, came in and did his thing,” Nagelbach said.
Burlington led 1-0 after Sean Kang’s single scored Kudronowicz in the second inning.
Clinton got three runs in the third, two coming on Drew Terpins’ home run to left field. The Bees got to within 3-2 in the sixth, but the LumberKings added two runs in the seventh.
The Bees play host to the LumberKings in a 6:30 p.m. game Friday before going to Clinton for a single game on Saturday and a doubleheader on Sunday.
Photo: The Burlington Bees celebrate their 6-5 win over Clinton on Thursday night. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
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