By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Rowen Bergeron is a long way from home, but he brought his power with him.

Bergeron hasn’t been with the Burlington Bees as long as some of the others — there was this little matter of playing in the NJCAA World Series — but in his time with the team has put himself among the Prospect League leaders in home runs.

Bergeron has played in 18 games with the Bees, but is tied for fourth in the league with eight home runs. By contrast, Springfield’s Griffin Novacek, who leads the league with 13 home runs, has played in 33.

Bergeron said his approach at the plate has made a difference.

“I’ve always swung it pretty well,” said Bergeron, a freshman this season at LSU-Eunice who is from Sunset, Louisiana. “I’ve always hit the ball pretty hard, but I think I’ve kind of unlocked a little bit of power when I started relaxing at the plate. What has worked for me is I haven’t been trying to get a hit, but I’ve been trying to hit the ball hard. I can’t really focus on the result or the outcome. All I can focus on is if I hit the ball, they’ve got nine guys out there that are trying to get me out. So all I can do is me versus the pitcher. I’m going to hit the ball hard wherever it goes, and sometimes that’s over the fence.”

Bergeron only had two home runs in 24 games for LSU-Eunice this season, but Bees manager Owen Oreskovich knew he could be a power hitter in the middle of the lineup.

“When I was recruiting him to come here, I looked up his numbers on Prep Baseball Report and they were impressive,” Oreskovich said.

Bergeron didn’t play his first game with the Bees until June 10 — LSU-Eunice had qualified for the NJCAA Division I World Series, where the Bengals’ run ended in three games.

Bergeron then made the 15-hour drive to come to a place where he had never been.

“It was definitely something,” he said of the adjustment. “Obviously, switching to a wood bat, that takes time. But the atmosphere, it’s really not that much different from Louisiana. The food’s a little different, but the people are super nice in Burlington. They’ve kind of welcomed me. My teammates welcomed me. They’re super great, super encouraging, and the transition has been really great.

“I love this place.”

It helped that some of Bergeron’s family came to see him play in a three-day home stretch in late June. They got to see his two-homer game against Quincy in a 12-2 win on June 23, but just having them here meant a lot to Bergeron.

“I mean, they’re driving up here, 15 hours, just coming here for three days,” Bergeron said. “They got to cook me some good Louisiana food, some gumbo. So it was amazing. I got to play in front of them, and they brought my grandma.I was lonesome for them. I’m far from home, so I was glad I got to see them.”

Bergeron has hit .309 for the Bees. He had driven in 21 runs, and scored 21 runs, but his impact has been felt off the field as well, Oreskovich said

“He’s very relaxed,” Oreskovich said. “He doesn’t let the last out bother him, he just gets back at it. So it’s a really, really cool thing to watch. Also, he’s an incredible human being. He’s got the positive vibes in the dugout. He means a lot to this team.”

Bergeron has appreciated the pace of summer baseball, but said the relationships he has made have been just as important. It’s something he has reflected on as the season heads into its final weeks.

“It’s going to be over, and I think about that often,” he said. “I just moved into a (host) family for two months that I love now, and I’m going to leave, and I might not see them again for a long time. I love them — they’ve been taking care of me for two months, so it’s kind of going to be hard to tell them goodbye. The relationships I built over here at the ballpark … summer ball is a crazy thing. You make best friends, and then it’s over.”

Bergeron is going to head back to LSU-Eunice to contend for a starting spot, and hopes to attract the attention of four-year schools.

“It gets super intense in the South,” said Bergeron, who grew up as an LSU fan. “Obviously, we’re big into sports — we’ve got LSU and we’re in the Southeastern Conference and all that. Sports is just massive over there. It’s sweltering. It’s humid. It’s intense. But I mean, that’s where I grew up. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love it.”

He’s gotten to experience the sports interest in Iowa living with Matt and Anika McVey, his host parents. Matt is a big Iowa fan, Bergeron said, and he’s found that out being in their home.

“The room I’m living in is just decorated with Iowa stuff,” Bergeron said, laughing. “But I think I’ll slip something from LSU in there before I leave.”

Photo: Rowen Bergeron watches one of the eight home runs he has hit for the Burlington Bees this season. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)