By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Troy Peltz knew when he went to the plate, but his Burlington Bees teammates were reminding him.
“They were like, ‘Cycle watch. Cycle watch,’” Peltz said, laughing.
Peltz didn’t hit for the cycle in the Bees’ 16-8 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers in Sunday’s Prospect League at Community Field — his home-run bid in the eighth inning fell about 40 feet short — but his three-hit day helped the Bees win the eighth consecutive game and stay a half-game behind the Clinton LumberKings for the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot.
“I feel like we’re getting hot at the right time and everything is coming together,” said Peltz, who drove in five runs in the game.
Peltz, hitting third in the lineup, drove in a run with a double in the fifth, drove in two runs with a triple in the sixth, then added an RBI single in the seventh. All he needed was a home run when he came up in the eighth with the bases loaded and the Bees up 12-8.
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t thinking about (the cycle),” Peltz said. “It was definitely something I was thinking about. I tried for it, but…”
Peltz did hit a fly ball to left field that went 305 feet and was caught by Kamryn Link as Foti Rigopoulos tagged up from third and scored.
Adam Kudronowicz, up next, did get a home run — a 370-feet three-run shot to right field that provided the final margin.
“He finished the cycle for me,” laughed Peltz, who is Kudronowicz’s teammate at Iowa Western Community College. “I guess you can call it the ‘Iowa Western cycle.’”
Peltz and Kudronowicz, who also drove in five runs, have been a big part of the middle part of the Bees’ lineup all season.
“It seems like (Peltz) comes up big at all the right times,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “He got that double in the fifth to make it 5-2, and that triple made it (7-5). It seems like he’s coming up at the right times, and he’s a guy you want in those situations.”
The Bees were down 5-1 before they scored three runs in the fifth, four in the sixth, two in the seventh and six in the eighth.
“Earlier in the year, we weren’t taking leads and then finishing them off,” Oreskovich said. “And we’re doing that right now, which is really good to see. I’ve got a great group of guys, and you know, I love all of them and appreciate them being here. So we’re going to make a run at this thing here at the end of the year.”
Johnnie Ankenbruck had a three-hit day out of the eighth spot in the Bees’ lineup, including a solo home run in the seventh inning. Ankenbruck, Jace Figuereo and Juan Fernandez each scored three runs.
Aiden Terronez (2-3) was the winning pitcher, going six innings. Kade LaCoste got the save.
Burlington has Monday off, then begins a week that includes the final games of the season against the LumberKings Thursday and Friday in Clinton.
“We’re just worried about the next game,” Oreskovich said. “You don’t want to look ahead to Clinton and then maybe lose one or two of those games early next week. We can’t do that. So we’re just focused on the game at hand. Obviously we all know that we’ve got them at the end of the week. But we’ll worry about that when we get there.”
“Everybody seems like they’re having fun,” Peltz said. “And that’s when you play your best baseball.”
Top photo: Troy Peltz steals second base in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
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