By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Those left in the Community Field seats from the crowd of 800 that showed up for Tuesday’s game made more noise each time Burlington Bees right fielder Kade Knock fought off a pitch to keep his at-bat alive with two outs in the seventh inning.
When Knock finally dumped a single into left field to score Jace Figuereo with the final run, the noise on and off the field gave the win a postseason feel.
OK, so Figuereo’s run ended a 12-2 win by the 10-run rule over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers. Regardless of the extent of the outcome, it had the feel of a pressure situation that the Bees are going to be in for the final three games of the regular season and maybe the Prospect League playoffs next week.
“It was awesome,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “It gets our guys going. The fans have been great this summer, and you can’t thank them enough coming out every game. So, all thanks to them for being behind us all summer. It’s helped us at home a ton.”
It was the 10th consecutive home win for the Bees (31-22 overall, 20-8 second half), who have a 1 1/2-game lead over Normal and a two-game lead over Clinton for the second-half Northwest Division title. Burlington, which has won 14 of its last 15 games overall, has three games remaining — at home against Danville on Thursday, at home against Quincy on Friday, and at Quincy on Saturday.
The Bees won this game with the same relentless approach at the plate they have been showing in the closing weeks. They scored three first-inning runs, then added five in the third. Burlington drew six walks and had five batters hit by pitches, and those free bases were converted into five runs.
“We work on that when we talk during (batting practice),” Oreskovich said. “One of our rounds is hunting pitches that you can do damage on, so it’s cool to see that guys are kind of taking that to heart. When they get those pitches early, they’re trying to get their swing off. But if it’s not there, you know they’re going to take, besides certain situations when you’re trying to put the ball in play and try to get the runner over or an RBI. They’ve taken it and ran with it, and it’s really cool to see.”
The Bees had 12 hits. Juan Fernandez had three hits and drove in four runs. Knock drove in three runs.
Oreskovich was pleased with the spot start given by Ramzy Rodriguez, who has been a reliever. Rodriguez allowed two earned runs over 4 1/3 innings.
“He was probably a little tired there at the end,” Oreskovich said. “But he did a great job of filling in for us.”
Korbin Woerley (2-0) was the winning pitcher, striking out five.
The Bees have Wednesday off — a welcome rest, Oreskovich said. Oreskovich said there were no mandatory workouts planned for the day.
“Some guys may come in,” he said. “But they’ll get a chance to rest their bodies if need be. It’s been a long summer, and these guys have played a lot of games.”
Photo: Burlington Bees right fielder Kade Knock delivers the single that ended Tuesday’s 12-2 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Published
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026
