Bees Have Fun With Improvised Event

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

It wasn’t really a surprise that Mason Schwalbach won the home run derby during the Burlington Bees’ Community Basket Day at Community Field.

The surprise was who finished second.

Schwalbach edged pitcher Matthew Dinae 2-1 in the championship round, capping the two-hour event that improvised after Sunday’s regularly-scheduled Prospect League game was canceled.

Schwalbach is second on the Bees with seven home runs this season, and leads them with a .581 slugging percentage.

He got two in the first round to defeat Cedric Dunnwald, then advanced to the championship round on a tiebreaker.

But Dinae, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound left-hander from the University of New Mexico, challenged Schwalbach.

“I was getting a little nervous there at the end,” Schwalbach said. “He was putting some good swings on the ball.”

Dinae had two home runs to beat Keanu Spenser, the team leader in home runs, in the first round, then had two home runs against Corey Boyette in the semifinals.

He couldn’t get a second one to tie Schwalbach, though.

“Just tried to stay back, and get it into the air,” said Dinae, who was a two-way player at La Cueva High School in Hawaii.

“They wanted to throw a pitcher in there, is what I was told,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “We knew he had been a two-way player.

“He was in the (batting) cages earlier, when I got there this morning. He’s got a great swing. And he’s a big dude, too.”

Dinae wasn’t going to pass up the chance.

“Coach told me, ‘You’re in the home run derby,’ and I was like, ‘OK, cool,’” Dinae said. “ I just tried to do my best, tried to win.”

The home run derby, along with a five-inning intrasquad game before, was part of an event created after Sunday’s game against the Thrillville Thrillbillies was canceled so members of that team could attend the funeral of teammate Ashton Smith, who died Monday.

Community Basket Day, a charity fundraiser that awards a total $10,000 in cash and a basket full of prizes to four winners, is one of the largest events on the Bees’ schedule, so changes were made so fans come to the ballpark for the drawing of the winning tickets.

“I thought it was a great experience, fun for these guys,” said Oreskovich, who had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the intrasquad game. “It was a great, relaxed day for them. We’ve got some good guys on this team. Nobody complained against doing this, like you might get with some teams, some guys, in summer ball, when you’re not playing a game and that’s what they’re here to do. We’ve got an incredible group of guys.”

“It was nice,” Schwalbach said. “Gave us a chance to enjoy ourselves. It wasn’t really an off-day, more of a relaxed (day). Just have fun, make baseball fun again.”

The Bees are two games behind the Quincy Gems for the Great River Division’s second-half playoff spot with six games remaining in the regular season, including Monday’s doubleheader against the Thrillbillies at Community Field. Five of the Bees’ games this week are at home, including Saturday’s regular-season finale against Quincy.

“We’ve got some important games coming up,” Oreskovich said. “Hopefully we can get back to playing good baseball tomorrow, and take it from there.”

Photo: Bees manager Owen Oreskovich (left) celebrates after hitting the game-winning sacrifice fly in Sunday’s intrasquad game at Community Field. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

BEES 10, RIVER DRAGONS 9: Heat, And Wind, And A Game To Remember

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Caleb Wulf’s hit was twisting toward victory.

Coy Sarsfield was running toward victory.

And Burlington Bees manager Owen Oreskovich, in the third-base coaching box, was a boisterous traffic cop.

It was the final scene in a frantic comeback that could define the Bees’ season.

Wulf’s hit, and Sarsfield’s run, ended the Bees’ 10-9 10-inning win over the Alton River Dragons in Friday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (23-27 overall, 13-10 second half) moved into second place in the Great River Division, staying one game behind Quincy for the division’s second-half playoff spot heading into Saturday’s game against the Gems.

They did it by rallying from an early 8-0 deficit, tying the game in a suddenly-windy ninth inning on Mason Schwalbach’s sacrifice fly and then winning it in the 10th on Wulf’s single, his third hit of the night.

“There’s not many words,” Oreskovich said. “I’ve got a few select ones that I was screaming out at the end of the game when all of that was happening.”

The noise from the clubhouse below spoke to the win.

“It means everything,” Oreskovich said. “Can you hear those guys down there? It means everything. We’re trying to do what the goal is, and winning a game like that, coming back from down 8-0 … that’s about as much as you can ask for.”

“This is definitely the greatest game I’ve been a part of,” said reliever Preston Kaufman, who allowed one run over four innings to keep the Bees close in the middle and late innings.

The Bees got two runs in the fifth inning on Schwalbach’s home run to right field, then after Alton added a run in the sixth Burlington scored three in the seventh, three in the eighth, and then the single runs in the final two innings.

“It was early, a lot of guys were down,” Wulf said. “It just started with one hit, then followed by another. We plugged away and found a way to win it.”

The game, played in oppressive conditions with a heat index of 108 degrees at the start, lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes. The humidity made it feel like time was standing still — actually, it was on the scoreboard clock, which read 11:27 from beginning to end.

Then came the gusts of the bottom of the ninth, which actually kept the Bees from winning a little earlier.

Corey Boyette opened the inning with a triple that hit off the top of the right-field wall. Schwalbach, who had struck out with the bases loaded and two outs twice in the game, was at the plate as the potential winning run when gusty winds swept across the stadium, damaging a covering over the patio down the third-base line and umbrellas in the picnic area on the first-base side.

Schwalbach stepped out of the batter’s box and the game was stopped for a few moments. He came back in to hit a deep fly ball that was knocked down by the wind, but was still deep enough to score Boyette.

“Two innings earlier, that’s a home run,” Oreskovich said. “I had all of the confidence in the world in Mason. Those other at-bats didn’t matter to him. He came up and got a big hit.”

Kyle Looper (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th inning, nearly getting out of it facing just two batters. Jake O’Steen, who started the inning at second base under the league’s extra-inning rules, was thrown out trying to steal third for the second out of the inning, but Looper walked Chase Bloomer before Erik Brockmeier lined out to end the inning.

**Caleb Wulf slices a single down the left-field line to drive in the winning run. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)**

Then came the 10th, when Wulf hit a 1-1 fastball from Luke Gasser (0-3) that sliced into left field. Alton’s Alex Hagen couldn’t reach the ball, which fell near the foul line as Sarsfield, who was the Bees’ 10th-inning runner, scored the winning run.

“I knew the wind was playing a factor, but I thought as long as I get a ball (into the outfield) it should help me a little bit,” Wulf said. “Just tried to keep it simple, and it paid off.

“I figured I could put a good swing on it. If (the wind) helps me, it helps me. If it hurts me, it hurts me. Just take my at-bat like I normally do, and see what happens.”

“From my point of view, I thought it was (going to be fair),” Oreskovich said. “I thought it might fall shorter than it did. I did think it was going to stay fair, and then that was incredible base-running by Coy.”

*Bees reliever Preston Kaufman allowed one run in four innings. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)*

Alton (18-33, 9-16) was constantly putting pressure on the Bees, with baserunners in six of the first seven innings. But Kaufman kept the River Dragons from scoring after giving up the sixth-inning run, retiring the last nine hitters he faced.

“I just wanted to throw strikes,” Kaufman said. “(Bees catcher Ian) Wolski started calling the slider, and the second inning I went out there, and it just worked out. They were late on the fastball, because the breaking balls were so good.”

Kaufman, who gave up six runs and only got one out in his first appearance of the season, has become a reliable middle-inning piece of Oreskovich’s bullpen. He has allowed just five earned runs in 15 ⅔ innings, and this was his longest outing of the season.

“I love it,” Kaufman said. “Love these coaches. Love to go out and put zeros on the board for them.

“O said, ‘Just keep going. Go out there, and keep rolling.’ It meant the world that O kept me out there for four innings.”

“We wanted probably two (innings) out of him, but he was looking so damn good it was hard to not use him,” Oreskovich said. “He kept coming in, he’d go, ‘One more.’ And I was like, ‘You got it.’”

The comeback complete, the clubhouse music drowned the sound of the fireworks popping outside.

“I’m going to remember this one for a while,” Kaufman said.

“We’re going to enjoy this tonight,” Wulf said. “And hopefully ride with it.”

Photo: The Burlington Bees celebrate their 10-9 comeback win over Alton on Friday. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Bees Change Community Basket Day Game Plans

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

The Burlington Bees’ Sunday home game against the Thrillville Thrillbillies has been canceled, but there will still be a Community Basket Day event.

The Bees announced on Friday that the game was canceled so that members of the Thrillbillies could attend the funeral of player Ashton Smith, who died on Monday.

The team tried to find an alternate opponent within the Prospect League to play in an exhibition game, but no team was available.

The Community Basket game is one of the biggest of the year for the franchise, dating back to the late 1990s during its affiliation with the Midwest League.

Instead, the Bees’ players and coaches will play in a five-inning “sandlot” exhibition game, beginning at 2 p.m., followed by a home run derby.

Community Basket winners will be drawn throughout the day, with the final prize awarded at approximately 4 p.m. after the home run contest. Winners must be present for the third prize of $2500 cash, as well as the basket and its contents.

General admission will be $5. Concessions will be available, with special drink prices.

BEES 4, RIVER DRAGONS 3: An Escape In The Ninth To Close The Gap

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Jordan Martinez likes the heat of the late innings.

The heat of Iowa in July, well, not so much.

Martinez thrived in both in the Burlington Bees’ 4-3 win over the Alton River Dragons in Thursday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (22-27 overall, 12-10 second half) pulled within a game of the Quincy Gems for the Great River Division’s second-half playoff spot by surviving what could have been a nightmarish ninth inning.

Martinez got out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation by making the pitches that have made him a pitcher that Bees manager Owen Oreskovich has relied on since Martinez arrived almost two weeks ago.

“I’ve got all of the faith in J-Mar,” Oreskovich said.

Four hits and an error, with a couple of bad hops mixed in, gave Alton (18-32, 9-15) two runs in the ninth. But Martinez got Eli Young on a broken-bat grounder that was turned into a force play at home, and retired Kaden Coutts on a line-drive out to right field. Martinez then struck out Jake O’Steen on a 3-2 fastball to end the game.

“I was like, reset, refresh, start now and focus, and that’s what I did,” said Martinez, who recorded his first save.

Martinez, a right-hander from the University of New Mexico, made just five appearances this season with the Lobos, all in relief. Coming to Burlington has allowed him to settle into a late-inning bullpen role.

“I just like all of the stress, all of the pressure,” Martinez said. “It’s amazing. It’s like a rush.”

There’s also been the adjustment to the Midwest weather. The heat index was at 105 degrees when Martinez started the ninth inning.

“The weather is a lot different than in New Mexico,” said Martinez, who grew up in Albuquerque. “It’s not dry (heat).”

Martinez got the Bees out of trouble with a comebacker from Eli Hoerner to end the eighth inning, and then when Corey Boyette hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning, Burlington seemed in control.

‘That turned out to be huge, didn’t it?” Oreskovich said. “I tell them all of the time, if we’re up one, two, three runs in the late innings, get a couple of more. You always want those extra runs to feel better. I mean, it turned out we needed all of that.”

Alton’s Chase Bloomer opened the ninth with a deep fly ball to center field that Lincoln Riley couldn’t get that turned into a double.

“He makes that play nine-and-a-half times out of 10, and that was the half,” Oreskovich said.

Erik Brockmeier singled to move Bloomer to third, then Evan Evola hit what looked to be a double-play grounder, but Jaden Hackbarth couldn’t make a clean pickup. Bloomer scored on the error to cut the lead to 4-2.

Tyson Greene then hit what looked to be another double-play grounder, but it took a bad hop and sailed over second baseman Caleb Wulf’s head for a single, and Brockmeier raced home to get the River Dragons within 4-3. And when Diego Murillo reached on a single, the bases were loaded.

Then came Martinez’s escape.

“That’s a lot of unlucky stuff there,” Oreskovich said. “But J-Mar pitches at a very good school. He’s not going to let something like that affect him. I had all of the faith in the world in him.”

Young’s broken bat got Martinez in the right direction.

“That was great,” Martinez said. “Then (on Coutts’ line drive to right field), a great relay to keep the run from scoring.”

And the pitch to O’Steen?

“All gas,” Martinez said. “Two-seam fastball on the outside of the plate.”

***Reece Wissinger allowed one hit in four innings in his first start of the season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)***

Martinez capped a strong night of pitching for the Bees. Reece Wissinger, making his first start since joining the team late last week, allowed one hit and struck out six in four innings. Matthew Dinae (2-0) allowed one unearned run in 3 ⅔ innings.

Wissinger, a Burlington native who pitches at Southeastern College in Florida, has worked as a reliever throughout his college career.

“Reece was Reece,” Oreskovich said. “(Making him a starting pitcher) was something they were planning on doing with him next year, is what I was told. That’s why he’s out here — to get a feel for it.”

Wissinger threw 57 pitches, which was around what Oreskovich had planned.

“I was going to take him out after the third, but he said he felt amazing, and wanted one more (inning),” Oreskovich said.

ON DECK: The Bees play host to Alton in a 6:30 p.m. game on Friday. Aiden McGee (2-3) will start for the Bees.

Box score

Photo: Jordan Martinez closes out the game for the save in Thursday’s win. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

THE MONDAY HIVE: Boyette Knows How To Get On Base

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Owen Oreskovich didn’t need a sales pitch.

The Burlington Bees manager was looking for outfield help in late June when pitchers Drew Martin and Jake Jakubowski came to him with a name — Corey Boyette, their teammate at Heartland (Ill.) Community College.

“JJ and D-Mart came up here one day and they said, ‘Hey, we’ve got an outfielder for you. We’ve got this kid from Heartland…,’ Oreskovich said. “And I know how these kids from Heartland are, so I was already like, ‘Yes.’”

Martin and Jakubowski mentioned a few of Boyette’s statistics.

“And then they said he was a lefty,” Oreskovich said. “I mean, it was already a ‘Yes,’ but that solidified it.”

At the same time, Martin and Jakubowski were sending text messages to Boyette.

Again, no sales pitch was necessary.

“I was like, I don’t have any plans yet,” Boyette said. “They said they were talking to Coach O about me. In a couple of hours, I got a text saying, ‘Hey, can you be here on July 1?’”

The match has worked out, and Boyette has delivered on the advertising.

Boyette is batting .311 in 18 games, with four home runs and 14 runs batted in. He has a .488 on-base percentage and a 1.045 OPS. He has been on base in all but three games since joining the Bees on July 1.

That comes after his freshman season at Heartland, when he hit .457 with a .553 on-base percentage and a 1.273 OPS. He had six home runs and drove in 76 runs, but he also had 42 walks against 24 strikeouts, a valuable offensive piece in the lineup of a team that won the NJCAA Division II World Series.

“He knows what he’s looking for early in the count,” Oreskovich said. “He’s got an incredible eye. I mean, it’s basically as simple as that. He knows what he’s looking for, and if it’s there, he’s going to swing. If it’s not, even if it’s a strike early in the count, he’ll take it, just so he can go on.”

“I think it’s something I’ve had a lot of success with,” Boyette said. “A lot of it is, obviously, pitch selection. I trust my approach. I work my approach every game. And that’s what a lot of this summer has been — making those small adjustments that I can take into my sophomore year of college.”

Boyette has thrived in the relaxed atmosphere of summer baseball.

“I think it’s just the ability to come out here and be a little more independent, with all of the resources here,” Boyette said. “I get here pretty early every day, and take care of what I need to do. Come game time, I’m always ready.

“I knew it was a little more relaxing than a college spring season. But coming out here, it’s cool. It’s like a pro schedule. It’s something new, not having to worry about your school work every day. Just focus on baseball.”

Being a part of a championship team at Heartland has helped his confidence as well.

“Obviously, we had high expectations,” he said. “Being a freshman, I didn’t know what that was going to be like. I didn’t know we were going to win a national championship. At the end of the year, when we won, it hit me like, ‘Wow, we did this. The goal we set at the beginning of the year, we accomplished that.’

“College baseball is different, the brotherhood you have with those guys. You’re there every single day, you’re there with the same goal — win baseball games. To see the work you put in pay off at the end of the year, it was remarkable. I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates. It was probably the best experience of my life.”

It’s an atmosphere he has found with the Bees, even as a late arrival to the team.

“These guys are some of my best friends now,” Boyette said.

The change in summer plans has worked out.

“It was kind of just up in the air,” Boyette said. “I had an idea of places where I wanted to play, because I wanted to compete and get better this summer. Luckily I found a spot, and I’m glad I wound up here.”

Photo: Corey Boyette watches one of his four home runs this season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Bees Add 8 To Roster For Stretch Run

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

The Burlington Bees added eight players to their roster for the final 2 1/2 weeks of the Prospect League season, including three players with past ties to the team.

The Bees, who are a half-game behind Quincy for the Great River Division second-half playoff spot, added some key roster pieces that included some familiar names.

Pitcher Reese Wissinger (2021 Bees), catcher Chase Honeycutt (2021-22) and infielder Mitch Wood (2022) were among those joining the team for the final stretch.

Also added were three players from Southeastern Community College’s baseball team — pitchers Colten Clarahan, Connor Lyons and Zane Frese — along with pitcher Matthew Dinae (New Mexico) and pitcher Boyd Skelley (Winona State).

Wissinger, a Burlington native, was 3-0 with four saves for the Bees in 2021, striking out 41 in 18 2/3 innings. Wissinger was 5-0 with six saves and an 0.86 earned run average at Southeastern University this season, striking out 81 in 41 2/3 innings.

Wood, an Ottumwa, Iowa native who was at Iowa for one season, hit .323 with five home runs and 35 runs batted in at Yavapai College this season.

Honeycutt hit .273 with four home runs and 26 RBIs at Jones College this season.

Clarahan had 21 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings for the Blackhawks, who finished second in the NJCAA Division II World Series this season. Lyons struck out eight in 7 1/3 innings. Frese did not pitch.

Dinae, a freshman at New Mexico, did not pitch this season. Skelley threw nine innings at Winona State.

Photo: Chase Honeycutt watches his single in a game last season with the Burlington Bees. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

BEES 8, PISTOL SHRIMP 7: Playing The Hunches

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Burlington Bees manager Owen Oreskovich thought Trent Rice was going to have a big night, just watching him taking batting practice.

Oreskovich thought about giving starting pitcher Jacob Zahner another inning, but knew he had already given the Bees four strong innings.

Every move, it seemed, paid off for the Bees in Tuesday’s 8-7 win over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in a Prospect League game at Community Field.

Burlington (18-24 overall, 8-7 second half) moved into a tie with the Quincy Gems for the second-half playoff spot from the Great River Division heading into a four-game road trip that starts Thursday.

Oreskovich had wanted a good start from his rotation, and he got it from Zahner, who allowed just one earned run and five hits in four innings.

Oreskovich kicked around the idea of giving Zahner a fifth inning.

“We thought about running him out there, he was only at 79 pitches,” Oreskovich said. “But we wanted him to give us a good start, and he did that. We didn’t want him to run through that lineup for the third time.”

The Bees took a 3-2 lead in the third on Rice’s two-run home run to left field, his first of the season.

“I knew he was going to have a day,” Oreskovich said. “Well, I can’t say I knew. But his BP today was pretty damn good. It was incredible today.”

The Bees kept adding runs, getting two in the fifth and seventh innings, and one in the eighth.

That last one was important, because reliever Jordan Martinez gave up a three-run home run in the ninth to cut the lead to 8-7. Oreskovich went with closer Jake Jakubowski, who struck out the last two hitters for his fourth save of the season.

David Theriot (1-0) was the winning pitcher, giving the Bees three innings of relief, allowing two runs.

“I don’t know if he’s thrown that many pitches in a while,” Oreskovich said of Theriot, who threw 61, 45 for strikes. “But he said he was feeling good, looking good. He just gave up a couple of hits here and there, nothing special. He battled through it, left some guys on base, which was huge.”

Eight Bees had one hit each. Rice, Mason Schwalbach and Coy Sarsfield each scored two runs.

The Bees open their road trip with two games at Illinois Valley, which is one game behind them in the standings.

“We’re not changing our mindset that we have every other day,” Oreskovich said. “Just be better than the other team.”

NOTES: Schwalbach hit his league-leading 18th double in the eighth inning to drive in Rice with the Bees’ final run. Not counting the completion of a suspended game on Monday, Schwalbach has hit in his last seven games, batting .379 in the stretch. … Wulf has a five-game hitting streak, hitting .450.

Photo: Bees second baseman Caleb Wulf tags out Illinois Valley’s Chase Recetich at second base in the seventh inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

BEES 5-3, GEMS 4-8: Jakubowski Starts And Closes In Win

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Jake Jakubowski finished what he originally attempted to finish by, basically, being the starter.

If that sounds a little odd, it was the situation that was presented to the Burlington Bees’ closer in Monday’s completion of a suspended game against the Quincy Gems.

Jakubowski did the job he was given by Bees manager Owen Oreskovich, striking out three of the four hitters he faced in a scoreless 10th inning, then Caleb Wulf’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the inning gave Burlington the 5-4 victory.

The Bees couldn’t complete the sweep of the night, though, falling 8-3 in the seven-inning regularly-scheduled Prospect League game at Community Field.

Burlington (17-24 overall, 7-7 second half) stayed a half-game behind the Gems (21-22, 8-7) for the Great River Division second-half playoff spot.

Jakubowski has three saves this season, with 12 strikeouts in 12 innings to go with a 0.00 earned run average.

“He’s our guy we go to to win games,” Oreskovich said.

“I love the pressure,” Jakubowski said. “I just feel comfortable in that (role), and I prefer that.

“You know, in this game, you can’t be perfect. But in that role, you don’t have much margin for error. You try to be as perfect as you can, and that’s what I like about that.”

The Bees led 4-1 in the July 7 game against the Gems when Jakubowski entered in the ninth inning. Two errors, two hits and a hit-by-pitch led to three unearned runs. The game was halted after the bottom of the ninth because of lightning, and then a heavy rain forced the game to be suspended.

Oreskovich knew he wanted Jakubowski to pitch the 10th because of the league’s extra-inning rule in which a runner starts on second base.

“I think JJ gave us the best chance to get the three outs without letting the run score,” Oreskovich said.

Jakubowski (2-0) said he didn’t change his routine to start the night.

“I prepared the same way — played catch with my throwing partner, then threw with my catcher in the bullpen like I was getting ready to close the game,” Jakubowski said.

That previous inning from 10 days earlier was still on Jakubowski’s mind.

“I wish I had a couple of pitches back,” Jakubowski said. “The hitters had a nice game plan against me the first time, so I tried to kind of switch it up, throw the slider early in the count, and it worked out for me today.”

Jakubowski got Joe Siervo and Jimmy Koza on called third strikes for the first two outs. Harry Oden got an infield single off Jakubowski’s glove, but Jakubowski struck out Lucas Loos to end the inning.

The Bees then won the game in the bottom of the inning. Corey Boyette’s infield grounder advanced Tanner Holland, who started the inning on second base, to third. Mason Schwalbach and Keanu Spenser were intentionally walked, then Wulf drove a 1-2 pitch from Quincy reliever Andrew Fay into left field to end the game.

“We wanted to come out and start the game off strong, because we knew we had a second game and we wanted to get that win nice and quick,” Jakubowski said.

Any momentum, though, was taken away by the Gems early in the second game. They got two two-out runs off Bees starter Rem Maxwell (1-4) in the first-inning, then added a run in the third inning and four in the fourth.

Maxwell was charged with seven earned runs in 3 ⅓ innings.

“Starting pitching has got to be better, and that’s been a problem the last week and a couple of days,” Oreskovich said. “We just have to be better, plain and simple.”

The Bees got two runs in the third inning. Spenser’s sacrifice fly scored Boyette, then Schwalbach scored on a wild pitch.

Boyette drove in Connor Laeng in the sixth for the final margin.

Noah Harbin (3-0) was the winning pitcher.

NOTES: Laeng went 2-for-4 in the second game. He has eight hits in his last 15 at-bats after getting just two hits in his first 67 at-bats. … Quincy first baseman Jaison Andujar, the son of former MLB pitcher Joaquin Andujar, went 2-for-4 with a run batted in in the second game.

Photo: Bees reliever Jake Jakubowski throws in the top of the 10th inning of the 5-4 win over Quincy on Monday night. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

THE MONDAY HIVE: Bees Were Ready To Come Home

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Their seven-games-in-six-days odyssey complete, the Burlington Bees headed up the hill to get out of Normal’s Corn Crib and get on the bus for one final time.

The Bees split a doubleheader with the Normal CornBelters on Sunday, losing the first game 5-3 and winning the second 15-5, completing a 2-5 road trip that included more than 1,500 miles of travel, games in four different states, and one bus breakdown on an Ohio interstate that left the team stranded for almost three hours.

“That was a long trip, man,” sighed Bees manager Owen Oreskovich as we watched his team walk across the artificial turf to the outfield exit.

“It’s been a lot,” said third baseman Connor Laeng. “But to finish with a win, it feels pretty good.”

The Bees left home last Tuesday morning in first place in the Prospect League’s Great River Division and on a four-game winning streak. But after a 14-8 win at Lafayette on Tuesday night, the Bees:

— Lost 20-1 at Champion City on Wednesday.

— Lost 11-10 to Johnstown on Thursday after rallying from a 10-0 deficit to tie the game, only to give up a run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

— Lost 8-3 to Johnstown on Friday.

— Lost 8-4 to Champion City on Saturday after being stuck along the highway waiting for a new bus after their bus suffered a severe mechanical issue.

— Led 2-0 early in Sunday’s first game before giving up three runs in the third inning and two in the fourth.

Then came the second game, when the Bees struck for six runs in the second inning, then added four runs each in the fourth and fifth innings.

“I thought in most of the games, we were doing some things right, we were just behind early,” Oreskovich said. “Guys fought in that last game, and I’m glad they did that.

“The Lafayette game was really good for us, and I thought it was going to take a different turn for us this trip. We were very not good against Champion City — we got smacked around by them and I kind of lit into our guys a little bit. Then we come out in the first game against Johnstown and fell behind again.”

Laeng was one of the offensive standouts of the second game, going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs.

Laeng closed the road trip going 6-of-11 in the last three games, a bright spot in a season in which he has struggled to hit the ball. He opened the season without a hit in his first 35 at-bats, and he had just two hits all season heading into the road trip.

“Obviously I didn’t get off to a good start,” Laeng said. “But it was nice to finally find some holes.”

Such a cold streak left Laeng looking for answers.

“It’s been tough,” Laeng said. “Talked a lot to my parents, talked to a lot of different people.

“It was a grind, I won’t lie.”

This whole week was a grind for every Bee. And yet, Burlington comes home 6-6, a half-game out of the division’s second-half playoff spot. They see the two teams ahead of them in the standings for that spot — Quincy and Illinois Valley — five times in the next five days.

The Bees complete a suspended game with Quincy on Monday at Community Field before playing a seven-inning regularly-scheduled game. They play host to Illinois Valley on Tuesday, then after an off-day play at Illinois Valley Thursday and Friday.

“We’re still in a good spot,” Laeng said.

Then he smiled.

“Just looking forward to getting home,” Laeng said.

“Let these guys get into the beds they’ve been sleeping in all season and relax a little bit,” Oreskovich said. “Then let’s get back at it tomorrow.”

BEES 7, CORNBELTERS 3: Taking Momentum On The Road

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Aiden McGee had to think about what was his longest baseball road trip so far in college.

“Went up to Crookston, Minnesota,” said McGee, a pitcher for the Burlington Bees who plays his college baseball at Minnesota State University in Mankato. “That’s about seven or eight hours from Mankato. That was quite the trip — we actually played a tripleheader that day because the weather wasn’t cooperating.”

The Bees are about to head out on quite the road trip. After Monday’s 7-3 win over the Normal CornBelters in a Prospect League game at Community Field, the Bees leave town on Tuesday to begin a seven-games-in-six-days trip that will take them to four states and on a bus for more than 1,500 miles.

The Bees play Tuesday night at Lafayette (Indiana), Wednesday against the Champion City Kings (Springfield, Ohio), Thursday and Friday against the Johnston (Pennsylvania) Mill Rats, back to play Champion City on Saturday, and then a doubleheader against the Cornbelters in Normal, Ill., on Sunday.

Burlington will take plenty of momentum on the road. The Bees (14-18 overall, 4-1 second half), on a four-game winning streak, lead the Great River Division by a half-game over first-half champion Clinton.

“I feel like everything right now with this team is, ‘Let’s go, full go,’ Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “The momentum helps, obviously. Right now I feel like we’re in a pretty good place. Hopefully we can stay this way.”

McGee (2-2), a reliever all season for Minnesota State, has been working as a starter for the Bees. He threw five innings in this game, his second longest start of the season — he threw six innings in a 4-1 win at Jackson on June 17. McGee allowed just four hits and four walks to go with four strikeouts.

“I’ve only had one other start of five or six innings, so I’m glad I was able to get it going, put some zeroes up,” McGee said.

It’s been an education with his new role, McGee said.

“Just using my off-speed earlier, and then my fastball will stay through five or six innings,” he said. “That’s probably been the toughest part is locating the off-speed for strikes early on, because if I throw a fastball every time I’ll be gassed by the second (inning).”

***Burlington Bees starting pitcher Aiden McGee allowed four hits in five innings. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)***

The Bees gave McGee a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Mason Schwalbach’s RBI single and Caleb Wulf’s sacrifice fly, but Normal (18-16, 3-4) came back with two runs in the second inning.

“Early on, the fastball was working,” McGee said. “Second inning, a couple of them got away from me, so I went to the cutter and I was using that to get ahead. Started to get some soft contact, some fly balls, defense was working for me, and the bats kept going. Everything came together.”

The Bees’ offense picked up McGee with a run in the second on Jaden Hackbarth’s single, and then added three runs in the third.

“I know they’ve got my back,” McGee said of the offense. “I was a little upset giving up two after we scored two. It was right back to a tie game.”

McGee settled in after the second inning, allowing just a third-inning single and two walks in the fifth.

“McGee worked out of some stuff there early, really dug deep, worked through it, and did a hell of a job there,” Oreskovich said. “His first couple of innings, he was getting 3-2 counts on seemingly everybody. We kept telling him, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get ahead early.’ Make them put the ball play and get themselves out.”

Nick Tampa, Drew Martin and Jake Jakubowski finished the game for the Bees, allowing just one run and two hits over the final four innings.

The Bees had 10 hits, including three from Hackbarth, who drove in three runs, and two from Tanner Holland and Keanu Spenser.

Now it’s time to hit the road.

“It’s going to be a lot, a lot of baseball in six days,” McGee said. “So we’re going to need everyone, and I think we’ve got everybody in the right mindset to do that.”

“Bus leaves at 10 a.m.,” Oreskovich said, smiling.

NOTES: Corey Boyette has started his time with the Bees with a six-game hitting streak, batting .333 in the stretch. … Schwalbach has a five-game hitting streak (.381). … Spenser has a five-game hitting streak (.400). … Hackbarth is hitting .600 over the last three games.

Photo: Bees third baseman Brandon Bickford scores one of his two runs in Monday’s game. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)