A Split To End A Long Weekend – Baseball at The Hive

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

A long weekend for the Burlington Bees ended with a doubleheader split on Sunday at Community Field.

The Bees, playing their second doubleheader in a 28-hour span, defeated the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 7-4 in the first game before letting the second game get away, 9-6.

The Bees (11-13) are out of the race for the Northwest Division title heading into the final week first half of the Prospect League season, and manager Owen Oreskovich knows the second half has to be about consistency, something he didn’t see in Sunday’s two games.

“We had hits at the right time (in the first game),” Oreskovich said. “We had to be better throughout the game in that second game, and make pitches when we needed to.”

It had been a grueling weekend for the Bees. They travelled to Clinton on Friday and were taking batting practice there when they were told the game was postponed because of wet grounds. That forced a doubleheader on Saturday, with the LumberKings taking both games.

Then came this doubleheader, which included a make-up game from an earlier rainout.

The Bees led 2-1 and 6-4 in the second game, and couldn’t close it out. A three-run home run by Tyler Dorsch gave Illinois Valley (11-11) a 7-6 lead in the sixth inning, then Pambos Nicoloudes hit a two-run home run in the seventh for the final margin.

“They felt pretty comfortable (at the plate) in the last two innings,” Oreskovich said. “Probably most schools in the country, and we talk about it here too, talk about throwing up a zero in the next inning after you take a lead. We didn’t do that in the second game.”

Jared Rodriguez (1-1) was the winning pitcher. Zach Leuschen (0-1) took the loss.

The Bees jumped on the Pistol Shrimp early in the first game.

Mason Schwalbach had run-scoring singles in the first and second innings, and Corey Boyette had a two-run double, as Burlington built an early 4-1 lead. Caleb Seibers hit a two-run home run in the third inning — he would have another two-run shot in the second game — and Jace Figuereo had a sacrifice fly in the fifth to provide the Bees’ final run.

Alex Logan (1-2) was the winning pitcher. Braeden Sunken pitched a scoreless seventh inning for his fourth save.

Photo: Burlington’s Caleb Klein catches a fly ball in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader against Illinois Valley. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)