By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

One loss was going to sting.

Two turned out to be crushing.

The Burlington Bees’ hopes at making the Prospect League playoffs suffered plenty of damage in the doubleheader loss to the Thrillville Thrillbillies on Monday at Community Field.

The two defeats — 17-6 in the first game, 8-5 in the second game — put the Bees (23-30 overall, 13-13 second half) 3 ½ games behind the Quincy Gems for the Great River Division’s second-half playoff spot.

Burlington has four games remaining — Wednesday at Clinton, Thursday and Friday at home against Clinton, and Saturday at home against Quincy — with almost no margin for error at this point.

What was frustrating for Bees manager Owen Oreskovich was a play in the second game that switched the momentum and ultimately led to Oreskovich’s ejection.

The Thrillbillies had loaded the bases with no one out in the second inning. Bees starting pitcher Colton Clarahan struck out Cameron Hill for the first out, then got Jaden Correa to hit a comebacker that looked like it was going to be a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.

Clarahan got the force out at home plate, but Chase Honeycutt’s throw to first base was wide, allowing Charlie Corum to score.

Oreskovich thought Correa was out of the baseline and interfered with the play, and after a short argument was ejected by plate umpire Matthew De Sutter.

“He really didn’t have an explanation, which was kind of why I was even more upset, which is why I went out there,” Oreskovich said. “Bases loaded, no outs. Clarahan gets the strikeout, and then it’s as easy as a double play as it gets. I didn’t think it was a very tough call.”

Hayden Ralls followed with a two-run single and the Thrillbillies led 3-0.

That left the Bees chasing the rest of the game. They got single runs in the third and fourth innings to get within 3-2, then Thrillville scored two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to take command.

What added to the frustration of the game was the Bees could have gotten more runs in the third inning. They had the bases loaded with no one out after getting their first run, and couldn’t add anything.

“I felt like that inning where we left the bases loaded really took the wind out of us,” assistant coach Nate Robertson said. “We had the bases loaded, couldn’t do anything with it. It felt like every time we were starting to get momentum, the breath just got taken out of us.”

The Bees got two runs in the seventh on Keanu Spenser’s second home run of the night — he had a three-run homer in the first game — for the final margin.

Spenser now has 10 home runs off the season, tied for second most in the league and one behind leader Lucas Loos of Quincy.

The second inning was costly for Bees in the opener. Thrillville got six runs in the inning on just two hits, taking advantage of five walks from starting pitcher Jared Townsend to take a 7-1 lead.

Four Bees pitchers combined to walk 10 Thrillbillies.

“Too many walks in the whole game, and it really bit us hard,” Oreskovich said. “It’s hard to come back when you get behind that much early.”

Photo: Keanu Spenser heads home after hitting his second home run of the night. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Lincoln Riley just wanted a place to work before he sets off on his biggest college baseball journey.

His former manager with the Burlington Bees had a better idea.

So Riley, who played for the Bees in their first two seasons in the Prospect League, is back for the last couple of weeks.

“It’s good to be back, get some reps in, some (at bats), see the ball off the bat again,” said Riley, an outfielder from Marion, Iowa, who will play his final year of NCAA Division I eligibility this season at Arkansas. “These guys here are pretty cool. It’s nice to be back here in Burlington.”

Burlington, and center field at Community Field, are familiar places for Riley. He played two seasons at Southeastern Community College then played with the Bees while attending Eastern Illinois.

Riley hit .307 at Eastern Illinois, leading the Panthers to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title and a spot in the NCAA tournament. Eastern Illinois was eliminated in its two games in the Vanderbilt Regional, but getting to experience Southeastern Conference baseball was something he enjoyed.

“I thought it was a really good way to go out,” said Riley, who hit .375 in the two tournament games and was named to the all-regional team. “It was a really good year, historically, for EIU, too. So I thought maybe that was a good way to go out, but then going to the Vandy Regional, that was a blast.’

It was a lot of fun. It was a good experience. Sold-out crowd under the lights. Playoff baseball. You can’t beat that.”

Riley visited three Division I schools — Iowa, Gonzaga, and Arkansas.

“It was pretty stressful,” Riley said. “And I know for coaches, it’s pretty stressful with all of this transfer portal stuff. But at the same time, it was fun, too. I never got to go on a lot of visits when I was in high school.

“I was actually going to hang it up. I wasn’t going to play another year. Then Arkansas called, and I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So I took advantage of that.”

Playing for one of the best programs in the SEC — Arkansas also played in the NCAA tournament — was the biggest selling point.

“I’m looking forward to being around future professional baseball players and surrounded by facilities that are going to develop you and make you a better baseball player — just the whole environment,” he said. “Honestly, they’ve got the best fans in the country, 13,000 fans, something like that. So I’m excited to see what they all have.”

One of the first people Riley called with the news was Bees manager Owen Oreskovich. Riley was working out at home, but wanted something more.

“He’s like, ‘What do you think about me coming down and just like taking (batting practice), fly balls, working out?’” Oreskovich said. “I was like, ‘How about you play some games because it’s free?’”

“It was kind of just me getting work in by myself. It was kind of tough,” Riley said. “So I called up O, asked him if I could get some work in before heading (to Arkansas). Luckily, O and I have a great relationship, and he’s like, ‘Heck yeah, come on down.’”

Riley hit .246 in 18 games with the Bees last season after hitting .237 in 51 games in 2021.

Oreskovich knows what he brings to the team.

“It’s nice to know he’s roaming around center field,” Oreskovich said. “And being very good at bat in the leadoff spot. He’s not going to look stupid up there.

“He’s a great baseball player, and an even better dude. Nobody works harder than that kid.”

Riley is staying with his host family for the last two seasons — Matt and Anika McVey.

“I called them to tell them I was coming and if there was a family that had a spot, and they said, ‘Nope, you’re staying with us,’” Riley said.

Riley has played in two games for the Bees, with one hit in six at-bats. He’ll be back with the team for most of the final week of the regular season.

“I just kind of want to get back into routine, kind of get acclimated to live arms and seeing the ball off the bat, and just being around the guys again, really,” Riley said. “Just continue to have fun. Because you don’t know when it’s going to be (the end).”

Photo: Lincoln Riley is back with the Burlington Bees for the final two weeks of the regular season before heading to Arkansas. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

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)

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)

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)