The Burlington Bees’ front office will have a slightly different look next season.
Jill Mason has been named the general manager after four years of being the assistant GM. Blaise Rosson has been hired as the new assistant general manager and director of stadium operations. Ted Gutman, in his 26th year with the Bees, will become director of baseball operations.
Mason has been with the Bees since 2013. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Western Illinois University.
“Stepping into the role of General Manager, I’m beyond honored to lead this team forward with the strength of this incredible community behind us,” Mason said in a statement. “Together, we’ll keep building something special, continuing the tradition of Burlington Bees Baseball.”
Rosson, a Burlington native, served as a marketing intern for the club last season. He is a 2024 graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in marketing.
“It’s an honor to join the Burlington Bees front office,” said Rosson. “Growing up in Burlington and going to Bees games helped lead to my love of the game of baseball.”
The Bees open their fifth season in the Prospect League on May 27, when they play host to Quincy.
Four former Burlington Bees players were named to the Ohio Valley Conference’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the 2023-24 academic year.
Western Illinois pitchers Jack Duncan and Chase Golden, who played for the Bees this season, were named to the list. Western Illinois pitcher Jacob Greenan, who played for the Bees in 2021, was honored, as was Lindenwood’s Chase Honeycutt, who played for the Bees in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
To be listed, recipients must have achieved at least a 3.25 grade point average, have been eligible and on the team throughout the competitive season in their chosen NCAA-sponsored sport(s) and used a season of eligibility.
Duncan was 0-5, but led the Bees with five saves, this season. Duncan had a 5.47 earned run average.
Golden, who also played for the Bees in 2023, was 1-2 with an 8.66 average, striking out 22 in 17 2/3 innings.
For a while, the Burlington Bees’ game against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes looked like it was going to be one of “those nights” of plenty of runs at Community Field.
But while the Lucky Horseshoes kept hitting and scoring, the Bees’ bats suddenly went silent.
Springfield broke open what was a close game with 10 runs over the final three innings, defeating the Bees 15-4 in seven innings in Monday’s Prospect League game.
All of Burlington’s six hits came in the first three innings, as the last 13 hitters were retired in order after the Bees had cut Springfield’s lead to 5-4.
The penultimate home game of the season started out as one of those games where it looked like both teams might get to double-digit run totals. Springfield scored two in the first inning and three in the second, while the Bees got a run back in the bottom of the second and then scored four runs in the third.
But Lucky Horseshoes starter Joshua Mauney (6-1) settled in, keeping the Bees scoreless in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Springfield got two runs in the fifth, added two more in the sixth, then a six-run seventh clinched the win.
Wandel Campana, Bryan Barreto and Enrico Veach each had three hits for the Lucky Horseshoes. Springfield had 18 hits, but only four were for extra bases.
Brady Richards (1-1) was the losing pitcher.
Photo: Burlington’s Skyler Agnew steals second base in the third inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
Baseball has been a big part of Merrick Mathews’ life.
His grandfather, Rick, played and coached at Indian Hills Community College, worked with the Colorado Rockies as the team’s bullpen coach and is now a scout for the team.
His father, Jonathan, had a similar path — played and coached at Indian Hills, and is now a roving hitting instructor for the San Diego Padres.
Merrick is on his own journey now. He played two seasons at Indian Hills before heading to Iowa, where he will be a senior this season.
He’s been one of the constants in the Burlington Bees’ lineup this summer in the Prospect League.
“I don’t know what his numbers are, but I know he’s been a big part of the team,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “I think he’s been huge for us.”
Mathews, who hit .300 with just 10 at-bats for the Hawkeyes this spring, came to Burlington hoping for a chance to play.
“It’s gone good — I’ve really enjoyed it here,” he said. “I just wanted to come get some at-bats and have a good time, and fortunately I’ve been able to do both.”
Mathews, who has been in the lineup either as a first baseman or designated hitter, has impressed Oreskovich with his approach.
“He goes about everything like a professional,” Oreskovich said. “His eye in the (batter’s) box, he really works on that. And just the way he goes about his business — he’s a fun kid in the clubhouse, fun to be around. But when it matters, when it comes down to game time, he’s ready.”
Mathews’ approach has come from being around baseball all of his life.
“I’ve gained a lot of knowledge, learning about the game, the game within the game,” he said. “Just hearing from other hitters on the right approach at the plate, I’ve learned so much.”
Mathews played in 79 games in two seasons at Indian Hills — he hit .285 and drove in a team-high 39 runs in 2023 — but played in nine games with the Hawkeyes this season, with one start.
“I wasn’t too upset,” he said. “The biggest thing was I wanted to win baseball games, and whatever I could do to help the team I was going to do.”
Coming to Burlington was important, he said, to get as much game time as he could.
“I was seeing it pretty good this summer,” Mathews said. “I didn’t necessarily have a good season at the plate, but it was good to see pitches, just stay in a rhythm.”
The game time has also helped Mathews with his defense.
“I feel like I got a lot better at defense in the summer,” he said. “I thought I struggled a bit in the spring, but just getting all of the reps this summer really helped my game.”
Mathews’ family, including his father and grandfather, has been able to see him play this summer.
“My dad got to come to some Iowa games, and he’s been here,” Mathews said. “He doesn’t really tell me things to work on. He tells me to just keep doing what I’m doing, keep putting the work in, keep playing hard.”
The Bees’ season will end this week. Mathews said he plans on taking a week off before heading back to Iowa to prepare for the fall season.
“It’s helped a ton, being able to play at a place like this, and play with these dudes,” Mathews said. “It’s a great group of guys, a great coaching staff. It’s a lot of fun just being able to play every night with them. Hopefully I can take what I’ve learned and keep it rolling when I get back to Iowa.”
Photo: Bees first baseman Merrick Mathews has played in 39 games this season, second-most on the team. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
The Burlington Bees head into the final week of the Prospect League season with some momentum from Saturday’s doubleheader sweep of the Normal CornBelters at Community Field.
The 6-1 win in the first game and the 11-7 win in the second game featured key moments provided by players who have been here since the beginning of the season.
“That dedication means a lot, because you don’t see too much of that nowadays,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “They love baseball just as much as I do, and that’s an incredible thing to see. Them sticking out, I really appreciate them for that. They’ll never know how much I appreciate that, even if I tell them that. But it means a lot to me.”
Thirteen players on the Burlington roster were on the original roster to start the season. And when the Bees needed big plays in their offensive outbursts in both games, it was the veterans who stepped up:
• Cooper Donlin was 4-for-6 in the doubleheader and scored four runs.
• Cedric Dunnwald and Merrick Mathews each drove in runs in the five-run sixth inning that broke open a 1-1 game in the first game.
• Christian Dunn was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs in the second game.
• Michael Schaul gave up one run in five innings in the first game.
• Jack Duncan got the save in the second game.
The Bees (11-12 second half) head to Clinton on Sunday for an afternoon game against the LumberKings, who have a two-game lead on Springfield and a three-game lead on Burlington for the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot. Three of the Bees’ final four games are against the LumberKings.
“You weren’t in here right after the game when I told the guys what time we were leaving tomorrow,” Oreskovich said. “They’re excited to go compete, go play another game, show everybody what they can do.
“I’m proud of our guys. We used a lot of guys in the second game, everybody did good things, so that was good.”
The Bees trailed 5-2 in the fifth inning of the second game before striking for five runs to take the lead. Jace Figuereo’s double drove in two runs for a 6-5 lead, then Jeremy Figueroa added an RBI single.
Normal tied the game at 7 in the top of the sixth on Tyler Thompson’s two-run single, but the Bees came right back with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Dunn’s sacrifice fly broke the tie, then Jayden Cummings’ infield single followed by Figuereo’s two-run triple provided the final margin.
Tucker Ladeburg (1-0) got the win in the first game. Brady Richards (1-1) was the winner in the second game.
It’s the final two weeks of the Prospect League’s regular season, and two natural occurrences are happening to the Burlington Bees’ roster.
There are players leaving, and there are some players coming in just to get some innings and some at-bats before the summer ends.
The new players for the Bees all had significant moments in Monday’s game against Clinton at Community Field, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 4-2 loss to the LumberKings.
The Bees’ roster is down to 29 players — league rules allow up to 40 players — and it’s something Owen Oreskovich has grown accustomed to in his three seasons as manager.
“It’s always challenging this time of year,” Oreskovich said. “You don’t really know until you’ve got to deal with it. It’s different every year. It’s just a different challenge we have to take on every day.”
The newcomers all played a part in the game.
Michael Carrano Jr., whose first game with the Bees was nine days ago, provided Burlington’s only runs with a two-run home run in the second inning.
Justin Hackett, a right-handed pitcher from Iowa, got his first start for the Bees. Hackett, who is commuting between Iowa City and Burlington for his starts, struck out five in four innings, but was touched for three runs in the third inning on just two hits. He closed strong, striking out the side in the fourth inning.
“He lost a little bit (in the third),” Oreskovich said. “But (the fourth) will really benefit him, the way he finished.”
Brady Richards, who made his first appearance for the Bees five days ago, allowed one run over four innings, getting big plays behind him to get out of two jams.
Richards allowed a walk and a double to open the fifth. Jalen Martinez singled to right field to score Jaden Hackbarth, but first baseman Merrick Mathews made a smart play cutting off Cooper Donlin’s throw home, and threw out Martinez at second base. Richards then got out of the inning without allowing any more runs.
Richards walked the first two hitters of the sixth, then got Noah Gordon to hit a grounder to third baseman Skyler Agnew. Agnew tried to tag out Brett White coming from second to third, but base umpire Jacob Hudson ruled White was out of the baseline and called him out. Agnew threw to second for the force out, but the throw to first for a possible triple play was just a bit late. Richards then struck out Hackbarth, then retired the next six hitters to end his night.
“Brady’s been really good both times he’s pitched for us,” Oreskovich said.
Clinton starter Blake Gaskey struck out five in six innings. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
The Bees, who had eight hits, had runners in scoring position in the eighth and ninth innings, but couldn’t score.
“We got the hits, we just didn’t get them at the right time,” Oreskovich said.
Clinton starter Blake Gaskey (1-0), making his first appearance of the season, allowed six hits and struck out five over six innings without walking anyone. Gaskey pitched for the Bees early last season, and also played two seasons at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington before pitching at Ohio this season.
The Bees (8-9 second half) fell 3 ½ games behind the LumberKings for the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot with 10 games left in the season.
Photo: Bees catcher Michael Carrano Jr. (39) celebrates his home run with Merrick Mathews and Boston Halloran. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
It got loud at Community Field, that late-season-need-a-win kind of loud.
Ninety decibels, according to the watch of one fan, as Bryce Brown’s double sliced the right-center field gap and Jeremy Figueroa and Corey Boyette raced home with the tying and winning runs as the Burlington Bees defeated the Clinton LumberKings, 7-6, on Saturday night.
The second largest crowd of the season — attendance was announced at 2,262 — saw the Bees continuously slug back at their Northwest Division rivals, overcoming a crucial call in the ninth inning to close within three games of the LumberKings for the division’s second-half spot in the Prospect League playoffs.
“We’re trying to make a playoff push, so every win matters,” said Brown, who had three hits to push his batting average to .391. “Every game matters, especially against them, because we’re a few games back.
“Great crowd. Great vibe here tonight.”
“Big crowd — it was awesome,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “I love having them here. You know, it felt like a playoff atmosphere. It’s nice to play in front of crowds like this.
“They had our backs tonight.”
The Bees looked to be in position to tie the game earlier in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Cooper Donlin singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Donlin then appeared to advance to third base on Cedric Dunnwald’s flyout to center field, but after an appeal base umpire Jacob Hudson ruled Dunnwald had left early and called him out.
“I asked (Hudson) for an explanation, he said (Donlin) left early, so…” Oreskovich said, shrugging.
The call looked even bigger when Figueroa hit a slow ground ball to shortstop, reaching on an error. Boyette then followed with a single, bringing up Brown.
“We could have just rolled over there after that call,” Brown said. “Then we get the grounder and then the line drive to right field to bring me up. That doesn’t happen if we roll over.”
Brown then drilled the ball into the gap. Figueroa scored easily, and then Boyette was waved in, easily beating the throw to the plate.
That’s when it really got loud.
“The guys in front of me extended the game,” Brown said. “I knew I was going to get a ball in the (strike) zone, because he’s not going to spike a pitch in that situation.”
“We had some good hitters coming up after Figgy there, so I knew we had a chance,” Oreskovich said. “I was confident. Brownie’s probably swinging the hottest back in the Prospect League right now.
“We had three good hitters step up, get on base. That was huge.”
The Bees tied the game twice and led once through the first six innings, then, trailing 6-5, held the LumberKings scoreless the rest of the game. Jack Duncan pitched 2 ⅓ scoreless innings in relief of starter Michael Schaul, then Erik Kiewiet (2-1) got the win, getting out of a bases-loaded situation in the ninth without giving up a run.
“Just great pitching there late, and I thought Mike did a good job with the start,” Oreskovich said.
It was the fifth consecutive home win for the Bees.
“Our guys don’t give up,” Oreskovich said. “They’re showing a lot of resilience right now.”
“Huge win.”
Photo: Bryce Brown follows through on his game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
David Theriot Jr., had such an easy night, the sun was still out when he threw his final pitch.
Theriot pitched a four-hit shutout, striking out eight, in the Burlington Bees’ 14-0 win over the Jackson Rockabillys in Thursday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.
Theriot needed just 87 pitches — 62 were for strikes — to get through the seven innings in a game shortened by the league’s 10-run rule. He walked just one, and only allowed three singles, with the only extra-base hit coming on Nick Varon’s two-out double in the seventh.
The Bees (7-7 second half) won their fourth consecutive home game. They were coming off Wednesday’s 9-8 win over Springfield in which they rallied from an 8-1 deficit in the fifth inning, and they added to the momentum with this win.
“I think it was a carryover from last night,” said coach Casey Sole, who was interim manager for the game as Owen Oreskovich was serving a one-game suspension after his ejection from Wednesday’s game. “We’re just playing together, figuring each other out. Just starting to really get in the groove.”
Theriot (3-2) reduced his earned run average to 2.42, a much better outing than the last time he worked, when he gave up 10 runs — five earned — in two innings in a 15-5 loss at Alton on July 12.
“Tonight was a lot better, a lot more fun,” Theriot said. “The last outing, I couldn’t get ahead. Whenever I would throw a strike, they would be on me. Tonight I was getting ahead, and I was staying low in the zone.”
It wasn’t a good first batter for Theriot on this night. Jackson’s Ethan Rossow hit a grounder to first baseman Kinnick Pusteoska for what looked to be the first out of the game, but Theriot dropped the throw from Pusteoska as he was covering first base.
Theriot then retired the next eight hitters before Rossow singled for the Rockabillys’ first hit of the game in the third inning.
“You can just feel sometimes whenever it’s going to be a good day,” Theriot said. “To be honest, I didn’t feel anything different really. But after the first couple of batters it was like, ‘Uh, this might be a little different of a rhythm tonight.’”
“It’s very easy catching him when he dominates the zone like that,” said catcher Nick Meyer. “Everything was working. Fastball, slider, mixing them up. Everything worked.”
“I thought he had a lot of movement on his pitches today,” Sole said. “Cut it, sink it, keep them off-balance. And he was able to get ahead in the counts, which was good. He had a lot of success.”
Kinnick Pusteoska (left) and Skyler Agnew celebrate Pusteoska’s two-run home run. (Steve Cirinna/Burlngton Bees)
The Bees scored in every inning, taking advantage of two errors and seven walks from Jackson starter Matt Maloney in the first four innings.
Burlington had 10 hits. Meyer had three and Jeremy Figueroa, who drove in the winning run in Wednesday’s game, had two. Pusteoska drove in three runs, two on a fifth-inning home run.
“The vibes are pretty high in here right now,” Meyer said.
“The bats are completely different this half,” Theriot said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can hit the ball.”
Photo: Bees starter David Theriot pitched a four-hit shutout on Thursday. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
They were down by seven runs, but they had at least five more innings at the plate.
“We were all in the dugout, like, ‘Let’s do something crazy. Let’s get nasty. Make it fun,’” said Burlington Bees coach Casey Sole, suddenly the acting manager for the rest of the game and soon to be the traffic cop for what may be the biggest run of the season.
Oh, it got crazy, with a nasty, perfectly executed defensive play in the top of the ninth inning and a whole lot of fun in the bottom of the inning.
Jeremy Figueroa’s two-out double into the right-center field gap scored Cedric Dunnwald with the winning run as the Burlington Bees rallied to defeat the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 9-8 in Wednesday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.
The Bees (6-7 second half), trailing 8-7 in the ninth after being down 8-1 in the fifth inning, were down to their last strike when Dunnwald dumped a single into center field to score pinch-runner Jace Figuereo with the tying run.
Figueroa then worked a 3-2 count against Springfield reliever Gavin Erhardt (1-1) before drilling a line drive into the gap.
“I was just trying to get a pitch that I could hit hard,” Figueroa said. “Give myself a chance, give the team a chance. It definitely felt pretty good. As soon as I hit it, I knew I was going to get it into the gap. It was a great feeling, for sure.”
Dunnwald, running with the pitch, didn’t figure a stop sign would be coming at third base from Sole.
“I knew he hit it to right-center, and that the ball was down,” Dunnwald said. “The biggest thing I knew was I had to score. I didn’t know if it was going to go deep enough or not. I knew in that situation Casey was probably going to send me regardless. In my situation, I knew I had to go.”
“Oh yeah, without a doubt, I was sending him, no matter what,” Sole said.
Dunnwald easily got to the plate, then joined his teammates as they chased Figueroa in celebration.
“It was awesome to see the team come together for this win,” Sole said.
Dunnwald and Figueroa were the beginning and the end of the biggest defensive play of the game in the top of the ninth.
Bees third baseman Jeremy Figueroa tags out Tyler Butina in the ninth inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
Springfield’s Tyler Butina drove a ball over Dunnwald’s head in center field. Dunnwald chased down the ball as it hit off the wall, and delivered a strong throw to cutoff man Bryce Brown, who whirled and threw the ball to third base. Figueroa then made the tag on Butina for the second out of the inning.
Dunnwald had been shaded toward left-center field because of the way the wind had been blowing earlier in the game.
“Off the bat, he hit it high, and it kept going,” Dunnwald said. “My thought was to get to the ball, then hit my (cutoff). I threw a laser to Bryce Brown, and he did the rest. Initially, I thought we had no chance. I saw him rounding second as my ball went to Bryce. I thought it was going to be close, but I didn’t think we were going to get him. That throw must have been super-hard, because Jeremy got the ball and just laid on the tag.
“It was perfect.”
“It was just a beautiful play, a beautiful relay,” Figueroa said. “Ceddy got the ball in really quick, got it to Bryce Brown. Brownie made a perfect throw, honestly. Anywhere else, he’s probably safe. He made a perfect throw. Made my job easier.”
The Bees were down 8-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth when manager Owen Oreskovich was ejected from the game, arguing a called third strike on Figueroa.
That, Sole said, sent a message to the rest of the team.
“I think it started with Coach O firing them up,” Sole said. “He went out there and fired them up. He was fighting for them.”
What happened next was a four-run inning, and suddenly an 8-5 deficit looked a lot different.
“We were getting guys on base, getting guys in scoring position, so I felt like something good was going to come our way,” Dunnwald said.
“It was just a slow start,” Figueroa said. “Things didn’t go our way, but we stayed to the plan. Good pitching, timely hitting, and we got it done.”
Brady Richards gave the Bees four strong innings of relief, allowing just two runs while striking out four. Michael Schaul (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Bees matched their win total for the first half, and are just 1 ½ games behind Clinton for the second-half playoff spot in the Western Conference’s Northwest Division.
“It shows how much we care, it shows how hard we compete,” Dunnwald said. “A lot of things didn’t go our way tonight, with the umpires and everything. But I think that helped us in a way.
“Any win we can get is going to carry momentum. This one was huge.”
Photo: Bees third baseman Jeremy Figueroa gets water dumped on him by Jace Figuereo after his game-winning double. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
Owen Rice became the second former Burlington Bees player selected in this year’s Major League Baseball draft when the St. Louis Cardinals picked the left-hander in the 20th round on Tuesday.
Rice went with the 591st overall pick.
Rice, who played with the Bees in 2022, played at Wisconsin-Milwaukee the last two seasons. He struck out 65 in 44 1/3 innings in his two seasons with the Panthers, including 51 this season. Rice was 1-2 with a 6.27 earned run average in 10 starts this season, allowing 30 hits in 33 innings.
Rice played in four games with the Bees in 2022, going 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA in four appearances. He struck out 18 in 8 2/3 innings.
Rice is the third former Bees player to be selected in the draft since the organization moved to the Prospect League in 2021. Outfielder Spencer Nivens was selected by the Kansas City Royals in last season’s draft, and infielder Zane Zielinski was drafted by the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Photo: Former Burlington Bees pitcher Owen Rice was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 20th round of Tuesday’s MLB draft. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
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