By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
The Burlington Bees entered the Prospect League playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, and one of their main victims during the run was the Quincy Doggy Paddlers.
It didn’t matter in Sunday’s Northwest Division championship game.
Quincy erased an early three-run deficit, taking advantage of three Bees errors to take a 10-6 win.
The Doggy Paddlers play the Cape Catfish in Tuesday’s Western Conference championship game in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
The Bees end the season with a 34-23 record. It was the second consecutive season of making the playoffs after not qualifying in the franchise’s four seasons in the league.
Burlington, the second-half division champion, won 17 of its last 18 regular-season wins, including eight wins over the Doggy Paddlers. That stretch included a doubleheader sweep on Saturday night to end the regular season.
The Bees built a 3-0 lead in the first three innings before Quincy began cutting into it. The Doggy Paddlers scored two runs in the bottom of the third, then scored three runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to take control of the game.
Four of the Doggy Paddlers’ runs were unearned.
Nick Wilson was the winning pitcher, with Ethan McMasters picking up the four-inning save.
Kade LaCoste, who started for the Bees, took the loss.
Christian Graves had two hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs for the Bees. Lucas Krebs and Adam Kudronowicz each had two hits. Rowen Bergeron had a solo home runs.
Photo: Burlington’s Christian Graves watches his two-run home run in the first inning. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
Published
August 3, 2026August 3, 2026
