BEES 10, DOGGY PADDLERS 5: Setting Up The Weekend

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

The Burlington Bees’ first-half division title hopes rest on the next two games.

The Bees play at Clinton Friday and Saturday as the first half of the Prospect League season heads into final few games.

Burlington’s 10-5 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers on Thursday night at Community Field put the Bees into a better spot.

Burlington (10-10) is in second place, 3 1/2 games behind Clinton in the Northwest Division heading into the final two matchups against the LumberKings in the first half.

“We’ve got to win these two games against Clinton,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “Those are two giant games for us. And you know, Clinton’s been kind of rolling lately, so it would be good to go in there and shut them down two days in a row.”

The Bees had 18 hits against the Doggy Paddlers, taking control of the game with a three-run fourth inning and a three-run sixth.

“And we could have had a few more runs,” said Oreskovich, pointing out the 11 men left on base. “A couple of teams I’ve been around, when they start hitting like that everybody gets going. I think that’s the way it is with this team.”

The Bees rank second in the league with 180 hits, and are fifth with a .269 team batting average.

The middle of their lineup did the most damage in this game. No. 2 hitter Miles Risley was 4 for 5 and scored twice. Corey Boyette, the No. 3 hitter, was 3 of 4 and hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning that put the Bees in front to stay. Mason Schwalbach, hitting fourth, was 2 for 5 and drove in two runs. No. 5 hitter Kooper Schulte was also 2 for 5 and drove in a run.

“Those guys are coming together,” Oreskovich said. “They’re becoming really close, giving their little secrets away to each other during the game, things they see. Those are some good hitters in that lineup. So being able to learn from each other and then take that into your at bats and get good pitches and execute is the goal.”

Bees starting pitcher Jackson Rodgers (2-1) scattered five hits over five innings, striking out four.

“He gave up a couple of solo home runs, but that’s going to happen,” Oreskovich said. “I thought he pitched pretty well.”

The Bees got 11 hits in five innings off Quincy starter Hayden Steelman (1-2).

Photo: Burlington’s Corey Boyette watches his three-run home run in the fourth inning of Thursday’s game. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Prospect League Honors Bees’ Schulte

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Kooper Schulte opened the Prospect League season by hitting for the cycle.

That started a seven-game run for the Burlington Bees’ shortstop that earned him the Prospect League’s hitter of the week award on Tuesday.

Schulte, who opened the season with a 5 for 5 game against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers last Tuesday, hit .387 with a league-leading 12 hits in 31 at bats. He scored nine runs and drove in 12, hitting four doubles a triple, and two home runs. He finished the week with a 1.191 OPS.

It is the second Prospect League season for Schulte, who grew up in nearby New London, Iowa. Schulte, who played at the University of Iowa this season, hit .373 for the Bees in 2023.

Jackson’s Cooper Casteel was named the league’s pitcher of the week.

Photo: Burlington Bees shortstop Kooper Schulte watches his home run in the season opener. (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)

Schulte Brings Experience, Familiarity To Hawkeyes

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

IOWA CITY — Kooper Schulte was described as “a true son of a coach” by his new college coach, and that is the perfect description.

Schulte will be the starting shortstop for Iowa when the Hawkeyes open the season with a three-game series at South Florida, starting Friday.

It is Schulte’s first season with the Hawkeyes after two seasons of junior-college baseball, and it’s a chance for him to play in the same program where his father, Justin, was a player before becoming one of the top junior-college coaches in the nation.

It is that bloodline that coach Rick Heller can see in Schulte.

“Really good baseball player, that’s the best way to sum it up,” Heller said at the Hawkeyes’ media day earlier this week. “He’s got a lot of intangibles to his game. Justin is a tough guy, he brings a lot of toughness to his teams, and Koop has that. He’s just a steady Eddie in how he goes about his business.”

The chance to play at Iowa was something Schulte couldn’t pass up.

“My dad played here, and obviously it’s a great program, so it’s pretty special for me to be a part of it,” Schulte said. “Coming from a coach like him, he asks a lot of questions about the program, what do we do and stuff. But at the end of the day, he just tells me to trust the coaches, do what they say, and just work hard.”

Schulte is coming off a season at Southeastern Community College, where he played for his father. He hit .317 with eight home runs and 45 runs batted in, becoming a first-team all-region selection while leading the Blackhawks to the NJCAA World Series.

Schulte, a graduate of New London (Iowa) High School, played at Central Arizona Community College in 2023. He played that summer for the Burlington Bees in the Prospect League, hitting .373 in 19 games before suffering a season-ending hand injury.

He played last summer for the Waterloo Bucks in the Northwoods League. He hit just .170, but appreciated what he gained from a higher competition level of summer baseball.

“I didn’t play the best baseball, but it was a good experience playing with a lot of other guys from Division I schools,” Schulte said. “So I got that little experience before coming here.”

Schulte spent Iowa’s fall workouts on different parts of his game.

“I worked a lot on my hitting, really honed in on my mechanics, really tried to feel myself create more power, use my strength more in my swing,” Schulte said.

“I think that there’s a chance that he may surprise some people and provide maybe a little more offense than advertised,” Heller said. “I think he’s done some stuff in his swing with Marty Sutherland, our hitting coach, and he’s strong right now. The ball’s jumping off his bat. And so we’re hoping we can get some offense out of Koop as well.”

Heller said Schulte has been impressive with his defense.

“Koop is maybe the perfect guy to come in after Michael Seegers,” Heller said. “Michael was down there a long time, and was a big-time defender for us. I think Koop can step in and do a really solid job defensively.”

“He’s always been a really good defender in my eyes, and just like his dad, he’s always been super competitive,” said Iowa teammate Caleb Wulf, who played with Schulte at SCC and with the Bees. “He always knows how to win and how to put himself in the best position to succeed or do the job we need him to do.”

Schulte will return to the Bees this summer, but before that he will get a chance in the starting lineup of a program that is all too familiar to him.

“Coach Heller really wants me to just be that defensive player that I know I can be,” Schulte said. “So I take pride in my defense, make all the plays and if I hit, that’s a plus. But I’m really glad I’m here and getting this opportunity.”

Photo: Kooper Schulte fields a ground ball for the Burlington Bees in the 2023 season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

THE MONDAY HIVE: Mathews Hopes To Take Momentum Back To Iowa

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

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.

Mathews has played in 39 games this season, second-most on the team. He is batting .203 with two home runs, including a walk-off home run earlier this season, and 18 runs batted in.

“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 MONDAY HIVE: Dunnwald Wants To Add To Championship Feeling

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Cedric Dunnwald is back for his second full season with the Burlington Bees, but this summer he brought a championship feeling with him.

Dunnwald was part of the Mount Mercy team that won the program’s first Heart of America conference tournament championship and the first team to make it to the NAIA national tournament.

It’s a feeling that Dunnwald isn’t about to forget, and it’s one he wants to build on for next season.

“It’s a step I think a lot of people dream of, for sure,” Dunnwald said. “I don’t think I ever thought I would have a conference championship, holding a trophy in my hands. Winning the entire thing, dog-piling after winning the championship, tt’s something very few get to experience. And I think it’s awesome. You want to play more, you want that feeling again. That’s the determination, what you strive for. It was awesome, but I want to do that again. It’s such a good feeling.”

Dunnwald went just 3-of-14 this season for the Mustangs, but he has started the Prospect League season strong for the Bees, leading the team with a .333 batting average after the first week of the season.

It’s Dunnwald’s third season overall with the Bees — he played three games on a temporary deal at the end of the 2022 season — but it’s an opportunity he appreciates.

“My coach always said playing is how you get better,” said Dunnwald, a redshirt junior outfielder from Iowa City. “Whether you hit .500 or .100, seeing pitches is what you need. I think you can only get better. You see top arms from top schools, really good competition overall. Whether you’re playing or not, you get to witness 60 days of baseball. And I think it carries over to the fall. It slows the game down.

“Being able to play every day makes you enjoy it, makes you embrace it. Not a lot of people get to do that. So it definitely is a big plus.”

“That kid works harder than 95, 99 percent of the people I’ve been around,” said Bees manager Owen Oreskovich, who is also one of Dunnwald’s coaches at Mount Mercy. “He lives for the weight room, he lives for eating right, working hard.

“He’s an incredibly hard worker, and he wants to do good, just give his best at anything he does. I couldn’t be more excited to have him here. He only got a few at-bats this year, so I think it will be huge for him.”

Dunnwald hit .239 in 35 games with the Bees last season, but a full summer schedule helped him mature as a player.

“It’s just the summer-ball atmosphere that Coach O puts on,” Dunnwald said. “He lets the guys play. It’s a good atmosphere. When you’re playing 60 games, when you’re giving up your whole summer as a college athlete, you want to make sure it’s fun. We want to win, of course, but you also want to enjoy it. I think he does a really good job with that.”

“It brings a different sort of confidence to them when they get back in the fall,” Oreskovich said. “You can see it’s different than kids who didn’t play in the summer, or play in a league like this. It’s a tough league, and there’s good players all over. It’s good for him to bring that confidence up, and that brings the best out of everyone.”

Dunnwald also knows the relationships he has made are important.

“Our teammates can also be our coaches, so you can get different perspectives,” he said. “Different players from different schools, how they view things. It’s interesting to hear other viewpoints.

“Last two years, I’ve met so many guys that I stay in contact with almost every day. Which is awesome, because you can never have too many friends, too many connections around baseball. And that’s what makes it fun. Hearing their stories, their experiences, why they came here. It’s why we’re in the same spot.”

The confidence that Dunnwald has, though, increased with getting a chance to make a postseason run at Mount Mercy.

“It was amazing,” he said. “We wanted to focus on one thing at a time. It was first making the conference tournament, then winning it. We were able to do both. Our whole thing was, ‘Leave a legacy behind.’ So we wanted to keep pushing and accomplish one goal at a time. Once we made the national tournament, it really felt like we were leaving a legacy.

“We all had a blast. We were super thankful to be there, and I do think it meant a lot to our program. We never had a conference championship, we had never made it to a regional. We did a lot of things that had never been done there. It was really fun to be able to accomplish that. It’s awesome that I’m so young, that I have more years to play there. My plan is to keep that legacy going.”

Photo: Cedric Dunnwald is back for another full season with the Burlington Bees. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

BEES 11, PISTOL SHRIMP 9: Walk-Off Win Starts A New Week

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Joe Evans got the Burlington Bees to a spot where they could win the game.

Merrick Mathews finished the victory.

Mathews’ two-out two-run home run in the 10th inning gave the Bees an 11-9 win over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in Sunday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak, coming off a road trip in which they were outscored 19-4 in two losses to the O’Fallon Hoots. They took a wild ride in this one — they rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to take the lead, let that lead get away, tied the game in the eighth inning, squandered a bases-loaded opportunity in the ninth inning, then finally finished the win with three runs in the 10th.

“After that road trip, we needed that one pretty bad here,” Oreskovich said. “We got it done.”

The Bees trailed 9-8 in the 10th, but tied the game when Landon Akers’ ground out scored Scotty Savage, who opened the inning at second base under the league’s extra-inning rule.

Cooper Donlin followed with a double, and then advanced to third on a passed ball. But Illinois Valley reliever Anthony Solis (0-1) struck out Cedric Dunnwald for the second out.

Mathews, a junior infielder at Iowa this season, was 0-for-9 with the Bees, 0-for-3 on the day, when he came to the plate.

“I know no one is going to believe this, but I had a feeling he was going to come up with a big hit,” Oreskovich said. “It was just something I had in my head throughout the game. He was on some good pitches earlier in the game.”

Solis missed with a slider to Mathews to open the at-bat. Mathews then pounded a fastball over the left-field fence.

“I was watching the guys in front of me,” Mathews said. “I knew he wasn’t really hitting with his off-speed. He threw me a first-pitch slider that he missed, so I was pretty much dead-red heater after that. I got what I was looking for.”

Mathews was mobbed at home plate as he scored.

“It was pretty cool,” he said. “It was my first walk-off home run, so it was pretty cool.”

“That was huge for him,” Oreskovich said. “It was good to see him come up and get a big hit in a big spot.”

Evans (2-0) has become a reliable reliever for Oreskovich. The left-hander, who was a starter at Morton (Ill.) College this season, has thrown seven innings in two appearances, striking out six and allowing just one earned run.

Evans entered this game in the seventh after Illinois Valley scored three runs to take an 8-7 lead. He allowed just three hits in four innings, striking out three.

“Obviously, when you first get in there, the jitters are there a little bit,” Evans said. “Once I throw that first pitch and get it over with, it’s smooth sailing from there.

“Coming from a junior college, the competition isn’t as great over there. Coming here, going out and throwing strikes and getting ahead, it’s huge. It gave me confidence.”

“That kid is a competitor if I’ve ever seen one,” Oreskovich said. “Phenomenal competitor. He just goes out there and does his thing. That’s what we talked about earlier in the year — being who you are. And that’s who he is. That was huge. That was just as big as everything else.”

The Bees trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but scored six runs to take the lead. Ty Plummer, another player from Iowa, singled to drive in the go-ahead run.

It’s only the beginning of the second week of the season, but everyone understood the importance of the win.

“It was huge, for sure,” Evans said. “We had a few ballgames where our pitchers struggled a little bit. It was really huge for us to get in the win column.”

“Hopefully we can get some things rolling,” Mathews said. “Hopefully it kick-starts us into a new week, and we can get on a roll.”

Box score

Photo: Merrick Mathews watches his game-winning home run in the 10th inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Bees’ Roster Starting To Fill As Season Approaches

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Six NCAA Division I players are among the 23 who have signed so far to play for the Burlington Bees in the Prospect League this season.

The list includes seven players from the state of Iowa, and three players — outfielder Cedric Dunnwald and pitchers Preston Kaufman and Zach Leuschen — who played with the Bees last season.

Prospect League teams can carry as many as 40 players on their roster for the 58-game season. The Bees open their season on May 28 at Clinton.

Owen Oreskovich is back for his third season as the Bees’ manager.

A look at the Bees’ roster, including current statistics:

CATCHERS

Michael Carrano (Parkland College) — Batting .300 with three home runs and 16 RBIs.

Jacob Schindler (McHenry County College) — No stats this season.

INFIELDERS

Skyler Agnew (Hawaii Pacific) — Hitting .298 with two home runs and 26 RBIs.

Landon Akers (Bellarmine) — No stats this season.

Carson Bittner (Phoenix College) — Hitting .317 with 10 RBIs.

Jackson Lindquist (Rock Valley College) — Hitting .416 with six home runs and 45 RBIs.

Merrick Mathews (Iowa) — Hitting .333 in seven games, with one home run and six RBIs.

Ty Plummer (Iowa) — No stats this season.

Kinnick Pusteoska (Tennessee Tech) — No stats this season.

Jackson Rooker (Tennessee Tech) — No stats this season.

Ryan Skwarek (McHenry County College) — Hitting .410 with one home run and 29 RBIs. Also has pitched five innings with 10 strikeouts.

OUTFIELDERS

Luke Bragga (Tennessee Tech) — No stats this season.

Cooper Donlin (Hawaii Pacific) — Hitting .313 in 24 games.

Cedric Dunnwald (Mount Mercy) — Hitting .214 in 21 games. Hit .239 for the Bees last season.

Jackson Reid (Chandler Gilbert CC) — Hitting .179 in 12 games.

Scotty Savage (Milwaukee Area Tech) — Hitting .339 with six home runs and 35 RBIs.

PITCHERS

Shea Blanchard (Hawaii Pacific) — 3-0 with a 6.44 ERA in nine appearances with five starts. Has 17 strikeouts in 29 ⅓ innings.

Nathan Chapman (McHenry County College) — 0-1 with one save. Three strikeouts in 3 ⅓ innings

Noah Harbin (Maryville University) — 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA. Has 25 strikeouts in 19 ⅓ innings.

Preston Kaufman (Marian University) — 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two appearances this season. Had a 6.63 ERA in 14 appearances with the Bees last season.

Zach Leuschen (Southeastern CC) — 1-0 with a 4.73 ERA in 11 appearances this season. 1-0 with a 7.40 ERA with the Bees last season.

Michael Schaul (Mount Mercy) — No stats this season.

Jackson Wohlers (Rock Valley College) — 2-3 with four saves. Has 27 strikeouts in 18 ⅔ innings.

Photo: Pitcher Preston Kaufman is one of three former Burlington Bees returning to the team for this season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Wulf Commits To Hawkeyes

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Caleb Wulf built on a big season with Southeastern Community College’s baseball team with a strong summer with the Burlington Bees.

Now the infielder has committed to one of the top NCAA Division I programs.

Wulf announced on social media on Saturday that he had committed to Iowa beginning in the 2024-25 season.

Wulf hit .367 with an .800 OPS for the Bees last summer and was named to the Western Conference all-star team. That followed his freshman season at SCC, when he hit .384 with a .964 OPS.

Wulf is the second Bee to commit to Iowa, joining infielder Kooper Schulte.

PROSPECT LEAGUE TEAM CHANGES: The Prospect League added two teams last week — the Dubois County Bombers of Huntingburg, Ind., and the Full Count Rhythm of Hendersonville, Tenn.

Both of those teams played in the Ohio Valley League. Dubois County will replace the West Virginia Miners, who did not play last season in the Prospect League, while the Rhythm will replace the Quincy Gems.

“The Prospect League is thrilled to add two organizations the caliber of Dubois County and Full Count to its membership,” said Prospect League commissioner David Brauer in a statement. “Both have demonstrated success both on and off the field and are poised to be thriving members of the Prospect League. There is no doubt that adding these teams will further enhance this league’s reputation.”

Dubois County played in the Prospect League from 2005-12. The Bombers were members of the Ohio Valley League from 2013-2023 and were the 2021 OVL champions, and play at historic League Stadium in Huntingburg. Originally built in 1894, the stadium was featured in the movies “A League of Their Own” and “Soul of the Game.”

The Rhythm, founded by Full Count Ministries in 2020, was a member of the Ohio Valley League for each of its three seasons, winning the league title in 2022 and 2023.

Photo: Bees second baseman Caleb Wulf throws to first in a game last season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Schulte Commits To Iowa

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Kooper Schulte, who played for the Burlington Bees this summer, announced on social media Sunday that he was committing to play baseball at Iowa.

Schulte, a New London, Iowa native, will join the Hawkeyes for the 2024-25 academic year. He will be a sophomore this season at Central Arizona College.

Schulte, an infielder, hit .242 in 33 games at Central Arizona last season. But he hit .373 with a .962 OPS this summer with the Bees in the Prospect League.

Schulte played in 19 games, with eight doubles and 10 runs batted in. But his season ended on June 29 when he broke his hand after being hit by a pitch in the first inning of a 6-4 win over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes.

Photo: Bees shortstop Kooper Schulte throws to first base during a game this season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)