By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

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 game took just 1 hour, 53 minutes to play.

“That’s pretty nice,” Theriot said, smiling. “You can’t beat that.”

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.”

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)

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Four hours and 14 minutes into the night, Jace Figuereo knew how it was going to end.

“He told me, ‘If the ball’s in the dirt, I’m going no matter what,’” Burlington Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said.

And when the pitch from Jackson’s Story Kimura hit in front of home plate and ricocheted toward the Rockabillys’ dugout, Figuereo raced home with the game-winning run in the Bees’ 15-14 victory in 10 innings in Saturday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (3-6) snapped a three-game losing streak on a wild night in which they trailed 4-0 after the top of the first inning, fought back to lead 10-4 after three innings, surrendered five runs in an inning twice, and then had to tie the game in the ninth inning.

“Winning’s fun,” Oreskovich said. “That’s awesome. It can turn some things around.”

“It means a whole lot,” said Figuereo, who played his first game on Friday. “I wasn’t here at the beginning of the losing streak, but I know what it’s like. Losing streaks can be a make-or-break for teams. But I think tonight showed this team has a lot of fight in it, that early in the season we’ve still got the fight.”

Oreskovich used 21 players — “I didn’t know how many, but I know it was a lot,” he laughed — including seven pitchers.

“It’s ‘next man up,’” he said. “We pulled out all of the stops, and some of those guys came up huge.”

The Bees let a four-run lead get away when the Rockabillys scored five runs in the eighth inning. But Burlington tied the game in the bottom of the ninth when pinch-hitter Scotty Savege singled to drive in pinch-runner Cedric Dunnwald.

Figuereo had a chance to win the game in the ninth with runners on second and third, but lined out to center field to end the inning. He started at second base in the bottom of the 10th inning under the league’s extra-inning rule, and he knew what he wanted to do.

“I wanted to be the one to put the game on my shoulders,” Figuereo said.

Landon Akers was intentionally walked to open the inning, then Reese Moore grounded into a double play, moving Figuereo to third. Kimura’s first pitch to Cooper Donlin got away, and Figuereo ran home with the winning run, his fifth run of the game.

Figuereo played baseball at West Burlington High School, a couple of miles away from Community Field, and got to play high school games in the ballpark.

Now he’s wearing a Bees uniform, wearing the same number his father Anibal wore in 2002 and 2004 when Burlington was a Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

“It’s great,” Figuereo said. “I always wanted to be like my dad growing up. Being in a Bees uniform, it’s great. It’s been something we’ve been able to bond over the last couple of days.”

The Bees had an ominous beginning to the game when pitcher Nathan Chapman left with an arm injury just five batters in, which meant Oreskovich had to push a lot of pitching buttons the rest of the way.

Bobby Helt pitched 2 ⅔ scoreless innings in relief of Chapman. David Theriot didn’t give up a run in 3 ⅓ innings, and Chase Golden (1-0) picked up the win by striking out three in 2 ⅔ innings.

Zach Leuschen, though, gave up five runs in the fourth inning. Kyle Looper gave up four runs and Jacob Sjuts gave up one in the eighth.

“Some guys had some tough nights tonight, but I know they’re capable of giving us good innings,” Oreskovich said. “Bobby gave us all he could. Dave did a ginormous job. And then Goldie? Come on. That was great. That was the Goldie we saw at the end of the year. I love that for him, because that kid is so appreciative of things.”

The Bees had 11 hits. Akers had three hits. Moore drove in four runs and Merrick Mathews drove in three.

“It’s a win and we’ll take it,” Oreskovich said.

Photo: Jace Figuereo scores the winning run in the Bees’ 15-14 win over Jackson. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

There has to be a big hit somewhere in the bats of the Burlington Bees.

It’s something manager Owen Oreskovich has been wanting to see from his offense, but it hasn’t quite happened yet.

Sure, there was the walk-off home run by Merrick Mathews in last Sunday’s win over Illinois Valley, and the Bees did score seven runs in Wednesday’s loss at Illinois Valley.

But the 5-3 loss to the Jackson Rockabillys in Friday’s Prospect League game at Community Field was another source of frustration for Oreskovich.

“Our pitching right now is good enough to win,” Oreskovich said. “They’re giving us a chance. We’re not doing anything with any of our opportunities. We’re cold at the plate right now. We just need someone to step up with a big hit. Hitting is contagious, and once I think we get that I think it starts rolling. I’ve seen that plenty of times.”

The Bees (2-6) had just five hits and left seven runners on base. They had runners in scoring position in four innings and couldn’t get them in.

“The balls we’re hitting hard seem to be right at someone,” Oreskovich said. “It just seems like the ball is not falling our way right now.”

If there was something positive, the Bees were putting the ball in play, a night after they had 14 strikeouts in a 6-3 loss to Illinois Valley.

“I truly think once we get that big pop, something will start rolling.”

The Bees trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning, then slowly carved out some runs.

Mathews’ RBI single in the third was Burlington’s first hit of the game. Cooper Donlin’s run-scoring single in the fifth inning cut the lead to 4-2, then Skyler Agnew’s triple in the eighth scored Donlin to get the Bees within 4-3.

Jackson (7-2) got an unearned run in the ninth inning for the final margin.

Oreskovich liked what he got out of relievers Joe Evans and Chase Golden. Evans allowed just one unearned run over 4 ⅓ innings, and Golden struck out two of the three hitters he faced in the ninth.

“Joe has just been really good for us, and Chase looked like he did from the middle of last season through the end of the year,” Oreskovich said. “The pitching is there. We’re just not giving them any help.”

Jace Figuereo, batting in the leadoff spot in his first game this season, had two hits for the Bees.

“I really like him at the top of the order,” Oreskovich said.

Matt Maloney (2-0) was the winning pitcher.

Photo: Jace Figuereo had two hits in the leadoff spot for the Bees. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Just one hit in the last five innings could have made a difference for the Burlington Bees.

But Saturday’s 4-3 11-inning loss to the Jackson Rockabillys in a Prospect League game at Community Field came down to simple execution.

And that left Bees manager Owen Oreskovich frustrated.

The Bees (10-16) stranded 16 baserunners, including 10 in the final five innings in which they went hitless.

“I don’t know when the last time was we got a hit in that game, but it was a long time,” Oreskovich said. “But we’ve got to do a better job, and be better.”

The closest the Bees came to a hit came in the ninth inning, and it might have produced the winning run. Burlington had runners on first and second with one out when Caleb Wulf hit a hard grounder that look like it would get into the space between Jackson third baseman Carter Vrabel and shortstop Ayden Hamilton. But Vrabel, the son of Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, made a diving stab of the grounder and got up to get the force out at second. Brandon Bickford struck out to end the inning.

The Rockabillys (10-17) scored the winning run in the 11th without a hit. Wesley Mann started the inning on second base under the league’s extra-inning rule and moved to third on Vrabel’s groundout. Hamilton’s sacrifice fly then scored Mann.

The Bees tried a similar path in the bottom of the inning. Trent Rice started the inning on second and moved to third on Coy Sarsfield’s sacrifice bunt. But Keanu Spenser struck out, then Wulf grounded out to end the game.

The Bees built a 3-1 lead over the first five innings. Tanner Holland drove in all of the runs with an RBI single in the third inning and a two-run single in the fifth.

Jackson tied the game in the seventh. James Denten and Tyler Heckert singled to open the inning, then Griffon Cameron’s single to right field scored Denten. Cameron got caught in a rundown between first and second, and was tagged out as Heckert raced home with the tying run.

Cauy Massner, making his last start of the season for the Bees, gave up three runs in 6 ⅔ innings. Jaden Siemer pitched 3 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief. Golden (1-1) took the loss.

“I thought Massner was great,” Oreskovich said. “That’s as good as he’s pitched all season, and I was hoping we could get one in the win column for him. Siemer was outstanding, and Goldy pitched well even though they got that run.”

Jamal Allen (1-1) was the winning pitcher.

ON DECK: The Bees play at Quincy in a 6:30 p.m. game on Sunday.

NOTES: Bees shortstop Kooper Schulte, 10th in the league with a .373 batting average, is out indefinitely with a hand injury suffered when he was hit by a pitch in the first inning of the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader against Springfield. “He’s going to be out for a while,” Oreskovich said. … Sarsfield, who was hit on the elbow in Wednesday’s game against Jackson, pinch-ran for Mason Schwalbach in the ninth inning in his first appearance since being injured. … Outfielder Corey Boyette joined the Bees. Boyette played for NJCAA Division II national champion Heartland Community College this spring, hitting .457 with six home runs and 76 runs batted in.

Photo: Cauy Massner delivers a pitch in Saturday’s game. (John Lovretta/bees-blog.com)

Box score

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Blake Gaskey was happy to watch the Burlington Bees turn the Community Field base paths into a speedway.

The Bees scored 10 second-inning runs and raced to a 17-4 win over the Jackson Rockabillys in Wednesday’s Prospect League game.

Burlington (9-15) had four stolen bases in the second inning, putting pressure on a Jackson defense which would commit four errors in the inning and five in the game.

“We’ve been on that side before, making five errors in a game,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “It’s not fun, but that’s what happens when you put the ball in play. You make the other teams make plays.”

The Rockabillys (9-15) didn’t make plays and Gaskey, the Bees’ starting pitcher, was the beneficiary of all of that offense, which allowed him to stay calm through five innings of work.

Fifteen hitters later, he had a 10-2 lead.

“It’s definitely a little bit rewarding to be able to go out there the next inning to know that I got run support and I could just do my thing,” said Gaskey, who struck out four and allowed just two earned runs.

“Gaskey did a hell of a job,” Oreskovich said. “Our offense backed him up, putting the ball in play.”

Gaskey didn’t give up a run in the third and fourth innings, then after allowing a two-run home run to Dalton Rudd in the fifth inning, retired the last three hitters he faced.

“Really, it was just being able to throw strikes with the fastball and the slider,” Gaskey said. “I was able to throw strikes with my change-up, but I was leaving it up and I knew I wouldn’t be successful with it. I just worked with what I had, tried to get first-pitch outs.”

Gaskey’s outing helped conserve the Bees’ bullpen with a doubleheader against Springfield scheduled for Thursday. The game was shortened to seven innings because of the poor air quality that left a smoky haze over the ballpark.

“(Going five innings) was really important, especially since it was a seven-inning game,” Gaskey said..

The Bees kept pounding the Rockabillys. They scored five runs in the fourth inning, an outburst that included Keanu Spenser’s second grand slam of the season.

Spenser, who added a run-scoring double in the fifth inning, is now batting .300 for the season and is tied with Mason Schwalbach for the team lead in home runs. Spenser has a four-game hitting streak, hitting .353 in the streak.

“He’s seeing it well right now,” Oreskovich said. “He doesn’t let any bad at-bat affect him, and that’s a really good thing he has.”

Will Schnepf (0-2) was the losing pitcher. Only two of the runs he allowed in the second inning were earned.

ON DECK: The Bees and Springfield play a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday’s game between the two teams was postponed because of the poor air quality.NOTES: Oreskovich said the hazy conditions didn’t seem to cause problems for his team, but said visibility got worse as the sun set. “I didn’t see those last couple of fly balls,” he said. “Somehow the outfielders did.” … Jackson third baseman Carter Vrabel, the son of Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, was 0-for-4 in the game and scored a run.

Photo: Bees starter Blake Gaskey picked up the win, allowing two earned runs in five innings. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)