By John Bohnenkamp

Dylan Hale had been playing in the Cotton States League in Mississippi this summer when he got a call from a friend.

Burlington Bees catcher Chase Honeycutt, who was Hale’s teammate at Desoto Central High School in Southhaven, Miss., called Hale as the Bees’ roster numbers began to dwindle as the Prospect League season was coming to an end.

“He told me they needed some help. So I just came up here,” Hale said. “Just wanted to have some fun up here.”

What Hale did on Sunday certainly qualifies as fun.

Hale’s two-run home run in the eighth inning lifted the Bees to a 4-3 win over the Lafayette Aviators at Community Field.

The win snapped the Bees’ four-game losing streak, and it came in a game that lasted 1 hour, 56 minutes — so fast, in fact, the Bees’ post-game food hadn’t arrived yet.

Hale, who was 0-for-3 in the game and came in just batting .188 in five games after arriving in Burlington on Monday, homered off reliever Wil Moritz (0-1) with one out after Jackson Jones’ double into the right-center field gap.

“First three at-bats, I was struggling,” Hale said. “Looked a little bit goofy on the curveball.”

Five innings earlier, Jones was intentionally walked with two outs and no one on base to get to Hale, who struck out to end the inning.

“At the time, I was like, ‘OK, cool, let me show I can hit the ball,’” Hale said. “But I ended up striking out. So coming up in the fourth at-bat, hitting a home run, it was pretty cool.”

“Big home run,” Bees manager Gary McClure said. “He’s capable of that. He’s got a nice swing. He finally got a pitch up. He had gotten a lot of pitches down today and got himself out. But he finally got a pitch up, hit it out of the yard.”

The Bees had given up an average of 11.3 runs in the losing streak, but starter Ricky Arthur and relievers Danny Perdzock and Grady Gorgen (2-1) combined to give up eight hits and keep the Aviators, who are tied for the league lead in runs scored, quiet.

Jones gave the Bees a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run home run, his league-leading 18th of the season.

Jones, who is two home runs away from tying the league single-season record, went 2-for-4 after going 4-for-31 (.129) in his last eight games. Jones is still hitting .323 for the season.

“Yeah, for him, he’s definitely been slumping,” McClure said. “He got good swings off today.”

Lafayette took a 3-2 lead in the fourth on Jayson Newman’s two-run home run and Gary Lora’s solo homer.

Photo: Dylan Hale hits a two-run home run in the eighth inning to lift the Burlington Bees to a 4-3 win over Lafayette.

By John Bohnenkamp

It’s about getting stops for the Burlington Bees.

The 10-6 loss to the Lafayette Aviators in Saturday’s Prospect League game at Community Field was the fourth consecutive defeat for the Bees, who are struggling to hold down opposing offenses.

The Bees (23-27 overall, 8-13 second half) have given up an average of 11.3 runs in the skid.

“At some point, you have to hold somebody down,” Bees manager Gary McClure said. “We’re giving up eight, nine runs a game.”

Bees starter Brady McLean gave up eight runs in five innings, surrendering 11 hits. The last three runs came in the fifth after the Bees had tied the game a half-inning earlier.

“At some point, you’ve got to hold somebody down if you’re going to give yourself a chance to win,” McClure said. “The game always comes back to pitching, and we’re struggling right now with that.”

Lafayette (35-14, 16-5), which has the league’s best record, shut down the Bees after that. Reliever Trevian Meza struck out nine in four innings.

“The second guy was pretty good,” McClure said. “He was bringing it up there pretty good. He was probably as good as we’ve seen this summer, right-handed anyway.”

The Bees fell 3 1/2 games back in the Great River Division with 10 games to play.

“We’ve just got to keep grinding right now,” McClure said. “A win is the next game away, if you grind right now and play hard. We’ve got to get some pitching coming up.”

HITS AT THE BOTTOM: The Bees had nine hits, with seven coming from the bottom four hitters in the lineup.

Joey Fitzgerald, Zane Zielinski and Sam Monroe each had two hits.

UP NEXT: The two teams play a 2 p.m. game on Saturday.

Photo: Burlington’s Ben Nippolt tags out Lafayette’s Oscar Ponce at third base in the fourth inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Time is running out for the Burlington Bees to keep chasing the Prospect League’s Great River Division second-half title.

Losing at home to one of the division leaders doesn’t help.

Friday’s 9-2 loss to the Quincy Gems at Community Field knocked the Bees 2 1/2 games behind the Gems and Clinton LumberKings in the standings.

Six of the Bees’ last 11 games are against the Gems and LumberKings, so there are opportunities to move up.

Still, the clock on the season is ticking.

“You know, if we wanted to stay in it, we needed to win tonight, and we didn’t do it,” Bees manager Gary McClure said. “You’ve got to move on to the next one.”

The Bees (23-26 overall, 8-12 second half) tied the game at 2 in the second on AJ Henkle’s two-run home run. But the Gems (25-25, 12-11) got a three-run home run from Jake Skrine in the fifth, then added four runs in the seventh inning.

Chas Sagedahl (1-3) took the loss. Sagedahl had given up four earned runs in 16 2/3 innings in his last three starts, but was charged with five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.

“He’s pitched good lately,” McClure said. “He’s had three or four outings in a row where he’s been really effective. Two pitches killed him tonight.”

ROSTER CHANGES: The Bees continue to have roster changes as the season comes to an end.

First baseman Austin Simpson left the team because of a family emergency. Reliever Reece Wissinger also left the team.

Simpson hit. .312 with four home runs and 23 runs batted in. Wissinger was 3-0 with four saves and a 1.92 earned run average. He struck out 41 in 18 2/3 innings.

“It’s part of the deal with this league,” McClure said. “It’s going to happen, especially later on (in the season). We’ve had more than I like, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Photo: AJ Henkle is greeted by Bees third-base coach Owen Oreskovich after his two-run home run. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Sam Monroe looked like a veteran at the bottom of the Burlington Bees’ lineup on Sunday.

Monroe had two singles, a walk, and drove in two runs in the 8-4 loss to the Quincy Gems.

His four plate appearances — Monroe grounded out to end the second inning — were his first in the Prospect League this season.

“Today was the first time I saw him swing,” Bees assistant coach Owen Oreskovich said. “He seems like a great kid. Can run, hit. Hit well for us today.”

It’s late in the season — the Bees have just 15 games to go on the regular-season schedule — but the roster has gone through plenty of changes in the last couple of weeks.

The Bees have 26 players on the roster. Eight players have left the team for various reasons, but it’s part of a natural evolution in the summer league for college players who are coming off a lengthy season at their schools. Quincy, for example, has lost four players.

“Toward the end of the summer, it gets tough,” Oreskovich said. “Kids have playing since the fall, it’s a long time.”

Monroe, who was a freshman this season at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, was added to the roster over the weekend. Outfielder A.J. Henkle and infielder Joey Fitzgerald were added last week.

“They’re good players, they know how to play,” Bees manager Gary McClure said about Henkle and Fitzgerald earlier in the week. “They bring some tools with them.”

Finding new players means relying on connections. McClure was a long-time college head coach. Oreskovich is an assistant coach at McHenry County (Ill.) College. Pitching coach Scott Barnum is an assistant coach at Howard College.

“It’s all we can rely on right now,” Oreskovich said of the networks the three have within college baseball. “It’s just guys that me, Scott and Mac know.”

Henkle, for example, played at McHenry County College and was coached by Oreskovich.

“I coached A.J., and he played baseball with my brother growing up, at the same community college I went to,” Oreskovich said.

“It’s hard to find good players,” McClure said. “But we had a couple there Coach O knew about it. He had coached one of them. The other one was his best buddy, so he brought him along with him.”

Monroe was a freshman last season at Southeastern Community College and was teammates with four other SCC players on the Bees’ roster.

It hasn’t been a problem inside the clubhouse, Oreskovich said.

“All of the new guys we’ve brought in have been good with the other guys we’ve had here,” Oreskovich said. “That’s great for them, and everyone else.

“It’s a little different. It’s tough to get guys in the right situations sometimes. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

THE WEEK AHEAD

• Tuesday, at Quincy. If the Bees want to get back in the playoff chase, this would be a good place to start. The Gems lead the Great River Division in the second-half standings, with the Bees three games back.

• Wednesday, vs. Illinois Valley. Thursday, at Illinois Valley. The Bees have a home-and-home series with the Pistol Shrimp, who are 5-9 in the second half.

• Friday, vs. Quincy. Saturday-Sunday, vs. Lafayette. A weekend homestand for the Bees, who get the Gems first before playing two games against the Aviators, who are 14-2 in the second half.

Photo: Sam Monroe tracks down a fly ball in Sunday’s game. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

It took 22 minutes for the rest of the day to be ruined for the Burlington Bees.

The Bees committed three errors in the top of the first inning, leading to five runs for the Quincy Gems in their 8-4 win in Sunday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (22-23 overall, 7-9 second half) fell three games behind the Gems (23-20, 10-6) in the Great River Division standings.

The rough first inning loomed over the rest of the game.

“We made errors, and they had some hits,” said Bees assistant coach Owen Oreskovich. “You make errors in the first inning, give up five runs, it’s hard to come back. You just have to chip away and we didn’t do that.”

Ryan Hutchinson opened the inning with a double off Garrett Moltzan. Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli followed with a hard ground ball that first baseman Austin Simpson fielded with a dive, but Moltzan didn’t cover first base until it was too late, putting runners at first and third.

The inning just got worse. Two errors by second baseman Zane Zielinski and an error by left fielder Sam Monroe added to the misery, as the Gems sent 10 batters to the plate. Only two of the runs were earned.

The outburst was made worse by the Bees’ inability lately to score runs. Monroe’s RBI single drove in Joey Fitzgerald to break a 20-inning scoreless spell.

“Twenty scoreless? I didn’t know that,” Oreskovich said. “We’ve had some tough breaks in the last few games. We’ve left a lot of guys on base. But that’s baseball, that happens.”

The Bees left 13 runners on in this game.

Time is running out on the season — 15 games remain on the schedule.

“We’re going to need hits with runners on,” Oreskovich said. “Get ‘em on, get ‘em over, get ‘em in. We’ll need timely hitting, which we haven’t gotten recently. And we’re going to need good pitching.”

THE NEW GUY: Monroe, who plays at Southeastern Community College, joined the team before the game and was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in. He reached base three times — he had a walk in the seventh inning.

BULLPEN HELP: Moltzan lasted just one-third of an inning, but the Bees got 5 2/3 strong innings from reliever Brady McLean, who allowed three hits and struck out two while giving up just one run.

“He did a great job,” Oreskovich said. “He’s done a great job for us lately. He’s a great pitcher, such a competitor.”

Greg Ryun allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings. K.J. Baker closed the game with 1 2/3 shutout innings.

“Our bullpen was phenomenal,” Oreskovich said.

BIG DIVE: Bees center fielder Lincoln Riley had the play of the day with a diving catch to end the fourth inning.

Quincy had a runner on with two outs when Alex Watermann hit a deep fly ball into left-center field that Riley raced down, diving at the last second to make the catch.

UP NEXT: The Bees have Monday off before playing at Quincy on Tuesday.

Photo: Bees center fielder Lincoln Riley lays out to make the catch to end the fourth inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Zane Zielinski’s three-run home run went to one of the deepest parts of Community Field.

“Maybe wind-aided a little bit, but I’ll take it,” the Burlington Bees second baseman said, laughing.

OK, maybe. But it still got out over the left-center field fence in the sixth inning, lifting the Bees to a 7-5 win over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in Wednesday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (20-20 overall, 5-6 second half) are 1 1/2 games out of first place in the Great River Division heading into a key six-game stretch against divisional rivals that begins with Thursday’s game at Clinton.

The Bees, who were down 4-1 after three innings, trailed 4-3 in the sixth and had runners on second and third with two outs when Zielinski homered off reliever Ryan Palmblad.

“He threw one curveball and I fouled it off, so I knew I could see that,” Zielinski said. “I was sitting on fastball, just waiting to adjust on the curve. Saw it coming in, so I just swung on it.”

It was the second home run of the season for Zielinski, who had struck out in his first two at-bats.

“It meant a lot,” Zielinski said. “I wasn’t doing a lot at the plate to start the day, so it felt good to help the team to take the lead. I’m just trying to hit a ball hard, drive someone in, maybe move someone over.”

“I was glad to see that for Z,” Bees manager Gary McClure said. “He got into one, a big home run.”

Zielinski had just one hit in his previous 10 at-bats before the home run.

“It was a big hit for team, a big hit for the him,” McClure said. “He’s been struggling a little bit.”

Jack Gray (2-1) was the winning pitcher in relief. Reece Wissinger got his third save.

Tyler Conkilin (0-1) was the losing pitcher.

BACK IN RHYTHM: The Bees lost two dates against the Normal CornBelters because of rain last weekend, then had Monday off before Tuesday’s 7-5 loss at Illinois Valley.

That time off set the Bees back a little bit, McClure said.

“That hurt us,” McClure said. “ A couple of days off, OK. But when you’re playing every day, and all of the sudden you have three days long days, where these guys don’t have anything to do. It gets you out of your rhythm a little bit, for sure.”

The Bees will play a 5 p.m. doubleheader at home against the CornBelters on Friday, then have another doubleheader scheduled for July 31 at Community Field.

HARRIS’ NIGHT: Bees starting pitcher McLain Harris struck out seven over five innings, allowing four runs, although only two were earned.

“Harris threw the ball really well,” McClure said. “We gave up at least two unearned runs, and maybe three. He pitched well.”

It was Harris’ first outing since an 11-7 loss to O’Fallon on July 4, when he was charged with only two earned runs of the six he gave up in a game in which the Bees committed six errors.

A throwing error cost him two unearned runs in the third inning of this game.

“We’ve kicked the ball around when he’s been on the mound here lately,” McClure said. “He did what he’s done all year. He keeps you in the ballgame. He gives you a chance to win every time he’s out there.”

Photo: Zane Zielinski hits his three-run home run in the sixth inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Hector Yan was on a big stage on Sunday.

The former Burlington Bees pitcher was part of Major League Baseball’s SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field in Denver.

Yan, a left-hander, pitched 2/3 of an inning, walking one, for the American League team in the 8-3 loss to the National League.

Yan, ranked the No. 8 prospect in the Los Angeles Angels organization by Baseball America, is pitching for the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Angels’ affiliate in the High-A West league this season. He is 0-5 with a 6.02 earned run average, but has struck out 51 in 46 1/3 innings.

A look at some of the players who played for the Bees in the last few seasons when they were a Midwest League (Low-A) affiliate of the Angels:

• Jo Adell (2018), the Angels’ top prospect according to Baseball America, is batting .275 with 18 home runs and 50 runs batted in in Triple-A. Adell, an outfielder, played 38 games for the Angels last season, with three home runs and a .161 average.

• Outfielder Brandon Marsh (2018), the No. 2 prospect, is also at Triple-A. He’s batting .253 with three home runs and 12 RBIs.

• Chris Rodriguez (2017), the No. 3 prospect, is in Double-A, but was with the Angels to start the season. He was 2-0 with a 3.66 ERA, striking out 20 in 19 2/3 innings. At Double-A, Rodriguez is 0-1 with a 1.64 ERA.

• Outfielder Jordyn Adams (2019), the No. 5 prospect, is batting .181 with one home run and 11 RBIs at High-A.

• Oliver Ortega (2018), ranked as the No. 10 prospect, is pitching in Double-A. He is 2-2 with a 7.40 ERA, striking out 35 in 24 1/3 innings.

• Denny Brady (2018), the No. 17 prospect, is 0-1 in Double A, striking out 23 in 15 2/3 innings.

• Infielder Livan Soto (2019), the No. 20 prospect, is batting .205 in High-A, with five home runs and 16 RBIs.

• Outfielder Orlando Martinez (2018), the No. 23 prospect, is batting .245 in Double-A with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs.

• Robinson Pina (2019), ranked as the No. 29 prospect, is 1-3 with a 3.78 ERA in High-A. He has struck out 67 in 47 2/3 innings.

• Austin Warren (2018), the No. 30 prospect, is 2-2 with one save and a 7.57 ERA in Triple-A. He has struck out 32 in 27 1/3 innings.

Some other interesting stories among the Bees’ alumni:

• Pitcher Andrew Wantz (2018) is with the Angels. His lone appearance was on July 4 against Baltimore when he struck out two and allowed one hit in 1 2/3 innings.

• Infielder Michael Stefanic (2019) has risen to Triple-A this season. Stefanic is hitting .313 with seven home runs and 30 runs batted in, after hitting .345 to open the season at Double-A.

• Pitcher John Swanda (2019), a Des Moines native who underwent elbow surgery during the 2019 season with the Bees, is at Low-A Inland Empire. Swanda is 2-5 with a 5.69 ERA. He has struck out 43 in 49 innings.

• First baseman David MacKinnon (2018) is batting .335 in Double-A, with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.

THE WEEK AHEAD

• Tuesday, at Illinois Valley. Wednesday, vs. Illinois Valley. The Bees get the first of two home-and-home series with the Pistol Shrimp, who play in the Prospect League’s Eastern Conference.

• Thursday, at Clinton. Friday, vs. Normal. Saturday, at Quincy. Sunday, vs. Quincy. The Bees are 1 1/2 games back in the Great River Division standings, which makes this a pivotal weekend against the other three teams in their division.

Photo: Hector Yan throws a pitch for the Burlington Bees in 2019. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Andrew Long didn’t quite make it through the seventh inning.

What the right-hander gave the Burlington Bees on Tuesday night was more than enough.

Long had his longest outing of the season, going 6 1/3 innings in the Bees’ 12-3 win over the Clinton LumberKings in Tuesday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

Long (1-2) came into the game with a 6.94 earned run average in five starts, but held the LumberKings to four hits and two earned runs while striking out four.

“It’s been my goal all season to get through the seventh inning, and I didn’t quite make it,” Long said. “Came up two outs short, but it felt good to get there.”

Long gave up a triple to Matt Scherrman to start the inning, then threw a wild pitch that allowed Scherrman to score. Long then got Brayden Frazier to ground out for the first out of the inning. 

Long was at 91 pitches, four short of the league maximum for a game, so Bees manager Gary McClure thought it was time to end Long’s night and go to reliever Garrett Langrell.

“He only had a few more pitches to go,” McClure said. “I thought he was getting a little bit tired. I thought he should finish on a good note, instead of struggling through another hitter or two and then all of the sudden a good outing turns into a not-so-good outing.”

“Still a little upset about letting that one run score, but it worked out in the end,” Long said. “I was glad to give the ball to Langrell with no runners on and an out on the board.”

Long, who pitched this season at Southeastern Community College, has had three outings of five innings this season. He has allowed 34 hits in 29 2/3 innings.

“I’ve learned to rust the defense, really,” Long said. “Pitch in the (strike) zone, it doesn’t matter if you get hit, you’ve got (defense) for a reason. Just really compete in the zone, and don’t let up no matter what.”

Long retired the side in order in three of the first four innings. He struck out the side in the third inning.

“I felt good with all my pitches,” he said. “Just trusted my defense to be there if I got hit around a little bit. Felt good, really confident today. I came off the mound (after the third), felt really good, and tried to roll off that momentum.”

Long gave up two runs in the fifth. Scherrman led off with a single. Frazier followed with a single down the left-field line, and a throwing error allowed Scherrman to score and Frazier to get to third. Frazier scored on Max Holy’s ground out.

“Long came out and pitched really, really well,” McClure said. “I think he could have gotten out of it with no runs, possibly, maybe a run.”

TABLE SETTER: Bees shortstop Ben Nippolt, put in the leadoff spot for the game, reached base in all six plate appearances.

Nippolt walked four times, had a solo home run in the third inning and a single in the fourth, and scored three runs.

Nippolt is batting .364 over his last nine games.

“He’s been swinging the bat good, he’s been taking walks,” McClure said. “And he had a home run to boot.”

POWER PLANT: Nippolt, Jackson Jones and Rome Wallace each had home runs for the Bees, but Wallace just missed a second one that would have ended the game.

The Bees were up 10-3 in the eighth and had the bases loaded when Wallace hit a deep drive down the left-field line that just missed being a fair ball. Had it gone out, the game would have been over because of the 10-run rule.

McClure argued the call with plate umpire Gabe Vargas to no avail.

CLEAN IT UP: The Bees had six errors in Sunday’s loss to O’Fallon, and McClure met with the position players before this game.

The Bees had just two errors in the game, but only one led to any runs.

“I think the guys took it to heart,” McClure said. “It was a good time for them to listen, I think. It’s one thing to talk, it’s another thing to go out and play well.”

Photo: Burlington Bees pitcher Andrew Long gave up two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings in Tuesday’s win over Clinton. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

The Burlington Bees opened the second half of the Prospect League season on Thursday.

The Bees closed the first half at 15-14, 1/2-game behind the Normal CornBelters for the Great River Division first-half title.

A look at the Bees’ numbers for the first half:

• Record: 15-14 (9th best in Prospect League)

• Batting average: .283 (2nd)

• ERA: 5.17 (5th)

• Fielding percentage: .952 (T-12th)

• May batting average: .294

• May earned run average: 4.15

• June batting average: .280

• June ERA: 5.36

Some superlatives for the month:

• Jackson Jones had an 11-game road hitting streak.

• Kevin Santiago had an 8-game home hitting streak.

• Mason Land had three sacrifice flies in the June 4 game against O’Fallon.

• Ben Nippolt tied for the league lead with 23 walks.

• Jones had 115 at-bats, third most in the league. He led the league with 12 doubles and 20 extra-base hits, and was tied for fourth in the league with 8 home runs. He had 41 hits, tied for third.

• Pitcher McLain Harris was eighth in the league in ERA at 2.80, and tied for second in the league in strikeouts with 41. Harris led the league with 35 1/3 innings pitched.

• Reliever Garrett Langrell had four wins.

TAKING CARE OF THE FIELD

You can often catch Bees manager Gary McClure and his coaching staff working on the field before the game.

It’s something McClure said he appreciates.

“It can be a little bit soothing at times, if you’re not in a big, big rush,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed working on the field.”

It was especially challenging in the last couple of weeks, considering the rain. Burlington had 5.18 inches of rain for the month.

“The field drains well,” McClure said. “It does a great job of taking in the water.”

The rain, of course, leads to one thing McClure doesn’t like — putting the tarp on the field, and then taking it off after the rain.

“I don’t like the tarp, at all,” he said. “Hate it. The other stuff, I’m fine with.”

THE WEEK AHEAD

• Tuesday, vs. Clinton. After an off-day on Monday, the Bees play host to the LumberKings in a Great River Division game.

• Thursday, at O’Fallon and Friday, at Alton. The Bees make a two-game road swing through the Prairie Land Division.

• Saturday and Sunday, vs. Normal. It’s a two-game home series with the CornBelters in a key division showdown.

Photo: Jackson Jones led the Prospect League in doubles and extra-base hits in the first half. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

The Burlington Bees committed six errors in Sunday’s 11-7 loss to the O’Fallon Hoots, but Bees manager Gary McClure added one more that won’t show up in the box score.

“I think it just comes down to being prepared to play,” McClure said. “And that’s a mental error in itself.”

What was another solid pitching outing from McLain Harris was ruined by the Bees’ mistakes in the field. Harris gave up six runs in 5 1/3 innings, but only two were earned.

The right-hander, one of the Prospect League’s top pitchers with a 2.88 earned run average and 48 strikeouts, struck out seven, but his pitch count ran out in the sixth inning.

“I feel bad for Harris — he pitched a great game,” McClure said. “And had he not had all of those (errors) he might have went into the eighth inning today.  But his pitch count got up there more because of that.”

The Bees’ fielding struggles started with the first batter, when Luke Vinson turned a slow grounder up the middle into a double. He then stole third and scored when catcher Chase Honeycutt’s throw went into left field.

Another error in the third inning led to the Hoots’ second run, then two more errors gave O’Fallon two runs in the fifth inning without the benefit of a hit.

“Not only did we make errors, but every one of them scored,” McClure said. “We had more errors in the fifth inning than they had hits. You’re not going to win like that.”

Harris (3-2) gave up six hits and had no walks.

“He was probably the highlight of the day,” McClure said. “Pitched really well, gave us a great game, gave us a great opportunity to win. But we didn’t give ourselves a great opportunity to win.”

Clayton Stephens had two home runs for the Hoots, including a three-run homer in the seventh inning that gave O’Fallon a 10-2 lead.

The Bees got two home runs from Marcos Sanchez and one from Jackson Jones. The two have combined for 19 home runs this season.

“(Sanchez) is getting pitches to hit, and hitting them,” McClure said. “Same thing with Jones. Those guys have got a plan when they go to the plate.”

Bees center fielder Lincoln Riley extended his hitting streak to nine by going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in. Riley is hitting .378 in the streak.

“He’s just a grinder,” McClure said.

Jackson Keller (2-0) was the winning pitcher.

Photo: Marcos Sanchez rounds the bases after his second home run in Sunday’s game. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)