Tag: bees

THE MONDAY HIVE: Schulte Gets Back To His Roots, On And Off The Field

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

A day after going 0-for-5 in a 5-4 loss at Normal, Burlington Bees shortstop Kooper Schulte was mowing the grass behind the Community Field outfield fence.

A few hours later, after going through his normal pre-game routine, Schulte was in uniform and back at his usual position.

It’s been a summer of long days for Schulte, who along with being one of the top hitters in the Prospect League is working as an intern with the Bees, getting a full view of baseball from the playing side and the business side.

“Some days are harder than others, like when I work here in the morning and then have to play a game that night,” said Schulte, who will be a senior on Iowa’s baseball team this fall. “But honestly, it’s better for me to get up in the morning and get going than it would be for me to sleep in and be lazy.”

It hasn’t affected his play. Schulte, who opened the season getting five hits and hitting for the cycle in the 12-5 win over Quincy on May 27, is seventh in the league in hitting at .345. He has four home runs and 20 runs batted in and is tied for fifth in the league with 11 doubles, one of the reasons why he was selected to the league’s All-Star Game.

“I’m really happy,” said Schulte, who hit .268 with the Hawkeyes this season, going 0-for-12 in his final seven games. “Coming here from Iowa, I thought I needed a new start. I’m just doing things a little bit different this summer, and it’s worked out for me. Hopefully I just keep going the rest of the summer.”

It is Schulte’s second season with the Bees — he hit .373 in 2023 before a hand injury ended his season — but he’s learning about the other side of the game through the internship is doing for Iowa, where he is majoring in sport and recreation management.

“Mainly I work with the grounds crew,” Schulte said. “I get here around 10 a.m., work on the field, mow the field, work on the base paths, set up for (batting practice), all the fun stuff.

“I’ve learned quite a bit, actually. Like different ways to take care of the field. (Assistant general manager/director of stadium operations) Blaise (Rosson) has been teaching me a lot — when I ask questions, he always has answers to it. I’ve been working a little bit with operations too, like social media stuff, restocking the concession stands, and stuff like that.”

“Every single day, he’s here in the morning doing his internship stuff, and then he’s going in the (batting) cages to get in work, then he goes and gets lunch and comes back and does more work,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “He’s one of the hardest workers — he might be the hardest worker I’ve ever been around or coached. And he’s a phenomenal player as well.”

If anything, Schulte said, the summer has helped him get back to being the player he knows he can be.

“It’s just been better mentally, more than anything,” said Schulte, who is living at home in nearby New London. “I’m playing with some guys I’ve played with in the past, whether it’s been with the Bees or at Southeastern (Community College). Maybe just being back at home was important, but it’s also been more about being competitive and getting back to who I am. I needed to get back to my roots, know what makes me good and keep doing that.”

Bees manager Owen Oreskovich (left) congratulates Kooper Schulte after his triple in the season opener against Quincy. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Schulte said his first year with the Hawkeyes taught him a lot.

“That first year, I learned the competition at the Division I level is pretty good,” he said. “I learned that I’ve got to stay on me, not listen to the outside noise or anything like that. Know what works for me, and stick to it. Trust the process.”

Schulte also has been working with his father, Justin, who is Southeastern’s head baseball coach.

“His dad raised him right,” Oreskovich said. “His dad is an incredible coach, and did an incredible job with him.”

Oreskovich said Schulte is one of the leaders in the clubhouse.

“He always speaks up, he’s always giving the pre-game speech,” he said. “He gets on guys when he has to, and he leads by example as well.”

“It’s something I wanted to do,” Schulte said. “I’m going to be a senior next season. So it’s my goal to be one of the leaders.

“I just want to be the person that I am this summer, taking it into fall (with the Hawkeyes) and then into the spring. Be competitive, be the guy that pushes my teammate, things like that.”

Top photo: Burlington Bees shortstop Kooper Schulte is batting .345 this season while also working for the team as a summer intern. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

BEES 12, QUINCY 5: Schulte’s Cycle Leads Opening Rout

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Kooper Schulte’s first batting practice session with the Burlington Bees on Tuesday was, by his description, “pretty, pretty bad.”

His first game of the Prospect League season was a lot better.

Schulte hit for the cycle, going 5-for-5 with five runs batted in the Bees’ 12-5 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers in the season opener at Community Field.

“It was the first time I’d hit with a wood bat in almost a year,” Schulte said of his afternoon struggles.

Schulte opened the game with a first-inning triple. He hit a two-run home run to left field in the third inning, singled home a run in the fourth, drove in two more runs with a bloop single in the fifth, then opened the seventh inning with a double.

Schulte said he wasn’t sure about the significance of what had happened when he heard the cheers after the double into the right-center field gap that gave him the cycle.

“I asked O (Bees manager Owen Oreskovich) what was going on, and he said, ‘You just hit for the cycle,’” Schulte said, smiling.

“I knew what he needed to do, but I wasn’t going to bring it up,” Oreskovich said, laughing.

Oreskovich wasn’t sure early Monday if he was going to have Schulte for the opener. Schulte, who is from nearby New London, just finished the season with Iowa — the Hawkeyes lost to UCLA in Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinals — but he sent Oreskovich a text message in the afternoon that he was going to be available.

“We had exit meetings with the coaches this morning, got back to New London by 11 o’clock this morning, and I was on my way here by noon,” Schulte said.

“I’m always glad to have that kid in the lineup,” Oreskovich said.

Schulte, who hit .268 for Iowa this season, played for the Bees in 2023, hitting .373 before a hand injury ended his season. So Oreskovich knows what he has in the shortstop.

“I think it’s the way he’s brought up, you know, especially with his father being who he is (Southeastern Community College coach Justin Schulte), one of the most winningest coaches out there right now,” Oreskovich said. “But I think it’s just the way he’s brought up with his work ethic — he’s one of the hardest workers ever. And, you know, he hates losing and he hates failing.”

Burlington’s Keanu Spenser rounds the bases after his fourth-inning home run (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

The Bees broke open a 3-3 game with a four-run fourth inning capped by Keanu Spenser’s home run to deep left field. They added two runs in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Everyone in the Bees’ lineup reached base. Burlington had 14 hits.

“It was awesome to see that,” Oreskovich said. “And we’ve got some guys still to come in here who can do some damage.”

The Bees went 6-23 in the first half last season, and the talk in the clubhouse before the game was about starting strong.

“These guys want to win,” Oreskovich said.

“It feels good to start out 1-0,” Schulte said. “There’s a lot of energy in here, a lot of good vibes, with a win like this.”

Parker Lewin, the second of four Bees pitchers, got the win, pitching 2 ⅓ scoreless innings.

The Bees go on the road to end the week with four games — Wednesday and Thursday at Normal and Friday and Saturday at Clinton.

“We’ve got to stay locked in,” Oreskovich said. “Going on the road is kind of always tough, especially when you’re on the road for multiple days in a row. But this is a different group, so I think they’re up for the challenge, and I don’t think it’s going to matter to them too much.”

Top photo: Bees shortstop Kooper Schulte slides into third on his first-inning triple. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)