By John Bohnenkamp

It was going to be hard for Burlington Bees manager Owen Oreskovich to find any positives in the 14-4 loss to the Quincy Gems in Friday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

Mentioning Nick Tampa’s name though, changed that.

Tampa has been one of the whatever-you-need players of the Bees this season, and he was that again on a night when Quincy could have made this game a lot uglier.

Tampa allowed one run and two hits in three innings of relief, striking out six.

“That kid competes every time he’s out there,” Oreskovich said. “Normally he’s in a role where he’s in a little more pressure, but he didn’t have to deal with that. He was able to go out there and do that thing, with a ball that moves the way that it does. He did a fantastic job.

“It could have been extremely … it was bad. It was terrible. It could have been a lot worse.”

Tampa has played the outfield and come out of the bullpen this season. He’s hitting .273, and as a pitcher struck out 28 in 22 1/3 innings.

“He’s done absolutely everything,” Oreskovich said. “He’s hit, he’s pitched, he’s played the outfield. Shows up with a smile every day. Cares. That’s all you can ask from a kid.”

The Bees (18-34, 7-14 second half) have lost nine consecutive games. They’ve given up 89 runs in the streak, with the Gems (28-24, 9-11) scoring 13 in the first four innings of this game.

“It’s pretty damn frustrating,” Oreskovich said. “A few of these games in this losing stretch, we had every chance in the world to win, and couldn’t do it. Couldn’t add on runs, couldn’t get a few more guys out. It’s probably the most frustrating thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life at this point in the baseball world.

“Yeah, not too much to be happy about in a losing streak like this.”

The Bees showed a little offense in the fourth and fifth innings. Weston Fulk’s triple scored Ryan Grace with Burlington’s first run, then Grace drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double in the fifth.

Grace is batting .330 this season, and extended his hitting streak to seven games.

“He’s a very competitive kid,” Oreskovich said. “That was another one that if it doesn’t happen, it could have made the game a lot worse than it was, and it was pretty damn bad already.”

Tim O’Connor (1-0) was the winning pitcher, striking out seven in five innings. Jared Townsend (1-6) was the losing pitcher.

Photo: Nick Tampa allowed just one run in three innings in Friday’s loss. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Owen Oreskovich was asked last Monday about what it meant to have Lincoln Riley back in center field for the Burlington Bees.

The Bees manager pointed to Riley’s diving catch for the second out in the ninth inning of the 6-5 win over the O’Fallon Hoots at Community Field.

“See those plays out in center today?” Oreskovich said, smiling. “That’s what it means to me to have him back.”

Five nights later, after Riley made another diving catch to get the Bees out of a first inning in which they had surrendered two runs and were dealing with runners on second and third base, Oreskovich just had to marvel again.

“That saves that inning,” Oreskovich said after the 5-3 loss to the Alton River Dragons.

It’s Riley’s second season with the Bees, and he knows the Community Field outfield well. He played in the stadium last spring as a member of Southeastern Community College’s baseball team, and then last summer with the Bees.

“It feels great to be back,” Riley said. “When I was driving back here, all of the memories were coming back, from Southeastern, last summer here.”

Riley, getting ready for his senior season at Eastern Illinois University, is glad to be playing again. He suffered an ankle injury on May 20 in EIU’s final regular-season series against Southeast Missouri State, and spent the time since then trying to get back on the field.

“It sucked sitting on the couch, not being able to play,” Riley said. “But it’s good to be back here playing.

“When I got here, it was good to see some of the guys I played with last season. Some of the guys who have been here all year, you can see they’re a little tired. I was in that situation last year, playing all spring and all summer. It’s tiring getting into these dog days. It was good to see these guys, get to know them. This is a good team, and I’m glad to be here and be a part of it.”

If the ankle is bothering him — Riley said that it can be “a little uncomfortable” at times — it hasn’t shown in his play in center field.

“When he gets out in the outfield, I don’t think he feels a thing,” Oreskovich said. “He hawks balls down, and it’s incredible to watch when you’re here. Any ball to center, I feel like it’s going to be an out. Even if it’s hit to the wall, I think he’s going to run it down.”

Riley’s talent at reading fly balls is something he said he’s acquired throughout a long career of playing in the outfield.

“The big thing is just getting reps,” said Riley, who grew up in Marion, Iowa and played at Cedar Rapids Washington High School. “Just seeing the ball off the bat is crazy important. Being out there all of the time throughout the years, the reps are so important.”

“It’s his jumps,” Oreskovich said. “I mean, if you watch, when the ball gets hit, you turn, he’s already in full sprint. His routes, and jumps, are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I said it last summer, he’s been the best center fielder I’ve ever been around.”

Riley found himself at the top of the Bees’ batting order when he arrived. He is hitting .267 with a .450 on-base percentage.

“I know he’s been a little frustrated with his hitting,” Oreskovich said. “He’s such a competitive kid, like, ‘I want to do it right now.’ Once we get his bat going, he’ll be even more of an incredible asset to this team.”

“I’ve been (leading off) for a while right now, so it’s a spot I’m comfortable at,” Riley said. “But anywhere in the lineup, I’m fine with it. Wherever O puts me, I’ll play.”

Riley is comfortable with the outfielders around him, whether it’s A.J. Henkle or Sam Monroe or Kevin Santiago. There can be friendly banter between the outfielders during the game, and everyone, Riley said, does a good job with communication.

“It’s really good to have that speed that we have out there,” Riley said. “But what it comes down to is communication. With all of those fast guys out there, you need to be able to communicate. But we do well with that.

“It’s good to have a good outfield.”

Riley hit .279 with a .467 on-base percentage at EIU last season. He is a corporate communications major, and he’s appreciating the chance to keep his baseball career going, even if it might be for a short time.

“Honestly, for me, this may be my last year in baseball,” Riley said. “You never know. So it’s about having fun, taking it all in. You don’t get to play baseball for your whole life. So, I’m just trying to have fun, get some reps in before I get back to school.”

Being back in a familiar place helps.

“Burlington just has a spot in my heart,” Riley said. “This is a really cool baseball place. And there are great people here. I’m enjoying it.”

Photo: Bees center fielder Lincoln Riley makes a diving catch to end the first inning in Saturday’s game against Alton. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Ben Tallman took half of a home-run trot.

The Burlington Bees’ catcher made sure to touch first base and second base as his deep fly ball to left field settled into the glove of Alton’s Troy Johnson.

As Tallman cut his trot short, he motioned to the sky and the wind blowing in from left field that knocked down his fly ball.

It was that kind of day, again, for the Bees in Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Alton River Dragons in a Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (18-29 overall, 7-9 second half), who have lost four consecutive games, fell three games behind the Normal CornBelters in the Great River Division second-half standings heading into Monday’s game between the two teams at Community Field.

The Bees put the ball into play all day against the River Dragons, only striking out twice. But getting those hits to fall was a different matter.

“I thought we hit some balls really well,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “Just right at some guys.”

Tallman’s ball, one of the hardest-hit ones of day by the Bees, died in the wind that emerged from the northwest early in the game.

“The wind didn’t do us any favors,” Oreskovich said. “That ball Benny hit was hit pretty well. That ball’s leaving on a normal day.

“The score of that game doesn’t dictate how I felt about the game.”

The Bees got a strong first five innings out of starter Jared Townsend (1-5), who walked two and struck out six. But Townsend, who gave up one hit and one run through those early innings, gave up three runs in the sixth inning as Alton (25-23, 7-9 Prairie Land Division) second half rallied to take a 4-2 lead.

“I thought Townsend was amazing,” Oreskovich said. “I thought this was one of his best starts that he’s had this summer. He just had that one tough inning, where he gave up four hits to five batters. They just got some balls to fall, and we didn’t get balls to fall for us.”

The Bees had six hits, but left nine baserunners.

“I thought we had a good approach at the plate,” Oreskovich said. “Overall, I thought it was a good game for us. We just didn’t win. No one would realize that if you weren’t here watching the game.

“I can’t say we were striking out with guys in scoring position. We were hitting the ball.”

Ryan Grace had two hits and drove in two runs for the Bees. Kevin Santiago also had two hits.

Alex Redman (1-0) was the winning pitcher for Alton.

Photo: Bees shortstop Charlie Terrill throws to first in Sunday’s game. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Lincoln Riley’s eighth-inning line drive seemed ticketed for center field, but instead in landed in the glove of well-positioned Alton shortstop Robby Taul.

Taul seemed to be in the right place at the right time in the final two innings of the Burlington Bees’ 5-3 loss to the Alton River Dragons in Saturday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (18-28 overall, 7-8 second half), who started the week in first place in the Great River Division, lost their third consecutive game, falling 2 1/2 games behind the Normal CornBelters, who are on a six-game winning streak.

The comeback magic that the Bees have come up with at times during the season didn’t show up on Saturday night. Riley’s line drive ended an inning in which Burlington had runners on first and third with one out, but couldn’t score. In the ninth, Sam Monroe and Kevin Santiago walked to open the inning, but a strikeout by Marcos Sanchez followed by a double play started by Taul on Mitch Wood’s ground ball ended that threat.

“That seems like the way it was going today,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said of Riley’s line drive.

The Bees did rally from a 5-1 deficit. Alex Brodie’s single drove in Weston Fulk in the fourth inning and Sanchez’s single scored Monroe in the seventh.

Getting those last two runs, though, wasn’t going to happen on this night.

The Bees outhit the River Dragons 9-6 — Sanchez, Brodie and Charlie Terrill each had two hits, but left 11 baserunners.

“I thought we did great in the box today,” Oreskovich said. “We hit balls hard. Had chances to score and didn’t get the big hit. We outhit them, and you should win the ballgame when you outhit them.”

Bees starting pitcher Elijah Green (0-1) allowed just three hits over five innings. He gave up five runs, but only three were earned. Reliever Brady Schiesl pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out four.

“I thought Eli pitched a hell of a game,” Oreskovich said. “He really competed. And shout out to Schies, he did a great job. He filled it up, and that’s all I ask out of these guys.

“It was just one of those days.”

Photo: Burlington’s Lincoln Riley avoids the tag from Alton’s Ethan Kleinheider on a fifth-inning double. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

A battle for first place awaits the Burlington Bees.

The Bees maintained their half-game lead in the Prospect League’s Great River Division with an 11-4 win over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes on Wednesday at Community Field.

Burlington (18-25 overall, 7-5 second half) takes a half-game lead into Thursday’s game at Normal (21-22, 7-6). The Bees and CornBelters play four games against each other — two in Normal, two in Burlington — in the final 2 1/2 weeks of the regular season, so this is a race that can go on for a while.

But for Bees manager Owen Oreskovich, it’s about his team doing what it’s been doing during its current four-game winning streak.

“They know. I don’t really talk about that with them, or need them worrying about that,” he said. “It shouldn’t really be a worry. I don’t want them going into that. I want them playing baseball, that’s what they came here to do, so it’s what I want them to do. Go out there and enjoy it.”

There is a confidence with the Bees right now.

“Especially if we, like, get down in a game,” Oreskovich said. “It’s not like it was early in the season, where it was, ‘Here we go again.’ Now it’s, ‘We’re going to get a hit, take a lead here.’”

There was no need to rally in this game. The Bees scored three runs in each of the first two innings, then added five more in the fourth in an inning in which they had just one hit.

Burlington had just six hits in the game, taking advantage of 11 walks by the Lucky Horseshoes (18-26, 6-6).

“We weren’t chasing pitches, and getting to pitches to hit when we did have a chance,” Oreskovich said.

The lead was good enough for Bees starter Garrett Moltzan (2-3), who allowed three runs in five innings.

“It made it a lot easier,” Oreskovich said of the fast start. “It allows G-Mo to go out there and relax, the position players go out there and relax.”

Marcos Sanchez had three hits and drove in two runs for the Bees. Nolan Elmore also drove in two runs.

ON DECK: Paolo Zavala (0-5, 9.59 ERA) starts for the Bees in Thursday’s game.

NOTES: Bees right fielder A.J. Henkle is hitting .429 over his last five games. Henkle was 1-for-3 on Wednesday. … Center fielder Lincoln Riley reached base four times in the first four innings. 

Photo: Bees left fielder Sam Monroe makes a running catch to end the first inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

A.J. Henkle’s two-run home run helped wake up the Burlington Bees.

The home run started a five-run sixth inning, and the Bees held on for a 9-8 win over the Clinton LumberKings in Tuesday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The win puts the Bees (17-25 overall, 6-5 second half) all alone in first place in the Great River Division and extended their winning streak to three games.

The Bees had been held to three hits over the first five innings and trailed 6-2 when Henkle’s one-out home run drifted over the left-field wall.

“I mean, Henkle’s home run kind of really gets you going there,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “Then you make it 6-4, and guys look up at the scoreboard and they’re, ‘OK, we’re right there.’ And you’re not chasing (a four-run deficit).

“Henkle had a big swing and that got us going there.”

The Bees got all of the rest of their runs in the inning on two-out hits. Lincoln Riley’s single scored Ben Tallman. Sam Monroe’s single scored Tucker Cole. Then Kevin Santiago’s single scored Riley, and the Bees led 7-6.

“Hunting fastballs, is what I would say,” Oreskovich said when asked to what kept the inning going. “Our guys were hunting fastballs, they got good pitches to hit, they were on time getting the barrel to it and hitting it hard. That’s all I ask these guys to do every day, and it was going our way.”

The Bees got two more runs in the seventh. Tallman’s triple to deep center field scored Ryan Grace, then Tallman scored on Dawson Estep’s single.

Burlington would need all of those runs in the ninth. Clinton (19-24, 4-8) scored two runs on bases-loaded walks, but Kyle Maurer got Matt Scherrman to ground into a force play to end the game.

“I always tell these guys we want to add on when we get a lead,” Oreskovich said. “Getting two more to make it 9-6. Wish we could have added another there in the bottom of the eighth (when Santiago reached base on a one-out error). Getting those two, obviously, helped a lot.”

Hamilkar Medina (1-0) was the winning pitcher. Maurer recorded his fifth save. Logan Schmitt (0-1) was the losing pitcher.

ON DECK: The Bees play host to the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes in a 6:30 p.m. game Wednesday.

Top photo: A.J. Henkle follows through on his two-run home run in the sixth inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

The rainout of Sunday’s game at Danville gave the Burlington Bees something they weren’t going to have for a while — a day off.

It would have been the fifth game in what was going to be a 20-games-in-20-days stretch for the Bees as they try to get a second-half playoff berth in the Prospect League.

The game isn’t going to be rescheduled — the Bees and Dans don’t play again this season — which could play a factor in the playoff chase. The Bees (15-25 overall, 4-5 second half) are percentage points behind Normal in the Great River Division.

But what helps is a day off when pitching is at such a premium in the closing weeks.

Some pitchers are on either a pitch count or an innings limit after either a lot of work during the college season or no work at all. Other pitchers may not be on a limit, but are tiring after a long college season followed by two months of summer-league play.

And, arms are at a premium at this point of the summer anyway. With so many college leagues going around the nation, everyone is looking for help.

That’s why getting to the end of the season with a pitching staff intact is going to be important in the playoff race.

“I think, truthfully, it will be (important),” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “If you’ve got pitching, if you’ve got good pitchers, if you’ve got more of them than a lot of other people, you’re going to be better off.”

The management of the workload of the Bees’ pitching could be seen last week.

Cauy Massner went seven innings in the 5-1 loss to Springfield on Monday. It was the longest outing by a Bees’ pitcher this season, but Massner threw only 87 pitches, eight under the league’s pitch limit for a game.

Oreskovich used three pitchers in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss at Lafayette. Starter Garrett Moltzan threw 75 pitches in six innings, and relievers Hamilkar Medina and Tucker Cole each threw one inning.

Three pitchers were used in the 4-0 loss to Lafayette on Thursday — Paolo Zavala went five innings, Nick Tampa went one and Jaxon Ingram went two.

Oreskovich used just two pitchers in the 5-4 loss at Terre Haute on Friday — Jared Townsend (5 ⅓ innings) and CJ Lewis (2 ⅔). Trevor McGee (4 ⅓ innings) and Weston Fulk (⅔ of an inning) pitched in Saturday’s rain-shortened 16-5 win at Danville.

The Prospect League has strict pitch-limit rules, but Oreskovich said the key is knowing when a pitcher is ready to come out of a game.

“Because you’re not burning kids, you’re not trying to get something extra out of a kid, like get an extra inning or something,” Oreskovich said. “Like just because he’s not at the pitch count, but he’s gassed. You don’t want to do that to kids. I don’t want to do that to kids. I want to keep them safe, keep them healthy.”

There still could be additions to the Bees’ pitching staff. Any arm would be an asset.

“We have a kid signed to a (temporary) contract, we’re waiting on him to get a flight here,” Oreskovich said. “We’ve got a few other kids in mind who might be coming, might not be coming, we don’t know yet.

“We’re trying to get as much as we can with what we’ve got, but not try to hurt them either. We’re trying to be smart with everything. It’s their career. They’re the ones who have to keep playing the game after this summer. We just have to take care of them, be smart.”

Photo: Hamilkar Medina has been one of the late additions to the Bees’ pitching staff. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Cauy Massner and Jake Curtis put on a show of pitching efficiency.

Massner, the starter for the Burlington Bees, and Curtis, the starter for the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, got outs and went deep into Monday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

Curtis was just a little better.

Springfield’s 5-1 win was done in just 2 hours, 9 minutes, thanks to two pitchers who didn’t mess around.

“It was just a good baseball game, a good old-fashioned baseball game right there,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said.

Massner (0-2) went the longest of any Bees starter this season, throwing 87 pitches — 60 for strikes — in seven innings.

Curtis (1-0) went eight innings, throwing 96 pitches, 67 for strikes. The Prospect League pitch limit is 95, but pitchers are allowed to finish throwing to the hitter they’re facing when they reach that point.

At a time of the season when off-days are rare — the Bees play 20 consecutive games after Tuesday’s day off — the length of a start a pitcher can give can make a difference.

Massner gave up four runs and eight hits, but retired six of the last seven hitters he faced, picking off Payton Pennington for the second out of the seventh when Pennington took off for third base while Massner was getting ready to throw a pitch.

“He might be the first kid we had go seven (innings) this year,” Oreskovich said. “He did a great job. Just left some 0-2 pitches where he shouldn’t have, and they didn’t miss on them. That’s all right, that’s baseball.”

The Lucky Horseshoes (15-21 overall, 3-2 second half) scored a run in the second when Peter Jelenic hit a leadoff triple and scored on Nasir Frederick’s sacrifice fly. Jacob Compton’s two-run double in the third pushed the lead to 3-0.

The Bees (14-22, 3-2) got their only run in the fourth on Marcos Sanchez’s home run, his third in the last two games.

Dayton Nevar’s double scored Compton with Springfield’s fourth run, then the Lucky Horseshoes got a run in the ninth when Johnny Colombo’s single scored Frederick.

Curtis allowed just three hits and struck out two.

“We made contact, they just weren’t falling,” Oreskovich said.

ON DECK: The Bees play at Lafayette in a 6 p.m. game on Wednesday to start a five-game road trip.

Photo: Bees pitcher Cauy Massner went seven innings in Monday’s loss. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

It was an hour before Saturday’s game against the Cape Catfish, but Sam Monroe wasn’t in uniform yet.

He was on the lineup card at the top of the Burlington Bees’ batting order, his customary spot, but there was work to be done before the game

Monroe was there helping as Bees manager Owen Oreskovich and his coaching staff got the playing surface at Community Field ready. Because besides being an outfielder with the team, Monroe is also working as a groundskeeping intern.

Community Field has been his home the last two seasons — in the spring with Southeastern Community College, in the summer with the Bees in the Prospect League. It’s a place that Monroe, who is from Moline, Illinois, considers special.

“I like taking care of the ball field, making sure it looks good,” Monroe said. “Just making sure this place is nice and beautiful.”

Monroe is going to the Missouri University of Science & Technology in the fall — he’ll major in electrical engineering. But he’s enjoying taking care of Community Field, whether it’s an assignment of painting bases or painting the lines on the field.

“It’s not necessarily an internship that pertains to my major,” Monroe said. “But it’s good to keep working, do some labor in the summer.”

Monroe is making some summer money, while also getting housing at SCC, as part of his internship.

“He’s a special kind of human being,” Oreskovich said. “He likes to work. He’s not a kid that’s going to be lazy, sit around. Even if he wasn’t a grounds crew guy, an intern, he would still be the one out there helping.”

“I would be here a couple of hours before the game anyway, just because I like being around the field,” Monroe said. “ If I can lend a helping hand, I would be doing that anyway.”

Monroe is also one of the better leadoff men in the Prospect League. Monroe, who is hitting .264 in 32 games, leads the league with 31 walks. He’s tied for ninth with a .435 on-base percentage, and is tied for 11th with 27 runs scored.

“Having him at the top of the order, with that spark he has, a great eye, the ability to hit, it leads us for the entire game,” Oreskovich said.

Monroe’s consistent approach has helped him all season, and it showed in Friday’s 5-4 comeback win over the Normal CornBelters.

Monroe’s single on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded drove home two runs to get the Bees within 4-3 and when Normal right fielder Wilson Zuck bobbled the ball, Monroe was able to advance to second on the play. One batter later, Chase Honeycutt’s single to left-center field brought in Trey Adams and Monroe with the winning runs.

“Besides the walk-off, his was the best at-bat of the inning,” Oreskovich said, noting how Monroe had barely fouled off the pitch before his single to keep the at-bat going.

“It’s important, moments like those, that you’ve got to take at-bats the same way,” Monroe said. “You approach nobody on with one out in the bottom of the second as you would bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. You focus on what you can pull from the pitcher, stay to your approach, don’t let the moment change what you do in the box.”

Monroe grew up going to Class A Midwest League games in the Quad Cities, so he was familiar with Burlington when the Bees were members of the league.

Playing in what used to be a professional setting is something he appreciates.

“You’re in this ballpark, people ask you for autographs, things like that,” Monroe said. “I think the people here have made it a second home. It feels like I’m living out a dream of playing professional baseball. Pretend for a while it’s what I’m doing, you know?”

“He’s meant everything to our team,” Oreskovich said. “I’ve said this before, but he’s the perfect player for a summer-league team. He comes here, looking to play every day, doing what he can to help.

“He’s an awesome kid. When you talk to him about things that aren’t about baseball, he’s just awesome to talk to, enjoyable to talk to.”

Monroe is looking forward to getting to Missouri S&T. It’s his next home.

“I really liked how they approached the game of baseball,” he said. “It’s hard to find a group of players as it is, but now you have to find players who are going for an engineering degree, which is rare. I think they do a good job with it. And I couldn’t argue with the academics down there. I’m getting into a good baseball program, and getting a good education. So it’s a good situation.”

For now, he’s spending the summer taking care of his current home. And he appreciates it when his teammates lend a hand.

“Guys will come out and help set up batting practice,” Monroe said. “They don’t have to do that. But they see me helping them out, so they’ll help me out. It’s being good teammates, good friends.

“You feel like you’re a professional baseball player, the way the fans treat you here. But at the end of the day, we’re still college baseball players. So we can go out and pull tarp, we can go do things to keep this place looking great.”

Photo: Sam Monroe has played in 32 games for the Burlington Bees this season, but he’s also been working as an intern with the team, helping take care of the field. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)