Bushnell’s Parting Gift Is The Winning Hit – Baseball at The Hive

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Griffen Bushnell plans to be back with the Burlington Bees later this season.

His goodbye-for-now single in the 10th inning of Thursday’s Prospect League game against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers at Community Field was quite the parting gift.

Bushnell’s hit through the drawn-in infield brought in Caleb Seibers with the winning run, giving the Bees a 6-5 win, their fifth consecutive victory.

Bushnell, a junior at Mount Mercy University, was with the Bees on a temporary basis to start the season, and this was his last game before he goes home to Eugene, Oregon.

“What’s next for me is I’m going to head home, get some training in and go to a couple family weddings, and then hope to be back here later in the season,” Bushnell said.

“I know he loves it here,” said Bees manager Owen Oreskovich, who also coached Bushnell at Mount Mercy. “The guys love him. They want him back. They were telling me, ‘Griff’s got to come back.’”

But there was still a game to play for Bushnell, and he provided the big hit at the end.

Seibers started the inning on second base with the league’s extra-inning rule, and moved to third base on Nolan Grawe’s fly out to center field.

Quincy’s infield was drawn in to try to prevent the run from scoring, but Bushnell’s hard grounder went through the hole on the left side to bring in Seibers.

“I just wanted to stay simple up there,” Bushnell said. “I know it’s bigger than me, bigger than this game.

“It means everything to me. God is good, that’s all I can say. I prayed before I went up there, and just to be able to go out and have the opportunity to compete for these guys is just a big blessing.”

Burlington Bees catcher Griffen Bushnell drives in the winning run in the 10th inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

“I’m so proud of Griff,” Oreskovich said. “All the work he put in this year, all credit to that kid. He works so hard, and he deserves that right there.”

The Bees (6-2) found themselves in position to win after reliever Braeden Sunken (2-0) kept the Doggy Paddlers from scoring in the ninth and 10th innings. Sunken struck out Skylar Graham to end the ninth inning with a runner on third, then got three ground-ball outs in the 10th.

“That kid is incredible,” Oreskovich said of Sunken. “He’s a special guy to have on this team. And he’s just a special baseball player.He’s pretty talented too, so that also helps. Hats off to him — every time he’s gone out there, he’s done his job.”

The Bees led 1-0 after five innings behind starting pitcher Reese Ellison, who didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. Quincy tied the game in the sixth, then took the lead with three runs in the seventh, but Burlington scored four runs in the bottom of the inning for a 5-4 lead. The Doggy Paddlers tied the game in the eighth on an unearned run.

“These guys fight — I’ve been saying it since I got here,” Oreskovich said. “Got some guys from winning schools — they just know how to win. All credit to those guys. They’re the ones who put in the work and go out there and play every day.”

Top photo: Griffen Bushnell (left) and Braeden Sunken celebrate the Bees’ 6-5 win over Quincy on Thursday night. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)