By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Owen Oreskovich is in his fourth season of managing the Burlington Bees, and he’s learned that the most important thing to get through the 58-game schedule is pitching.
Lots of pitching.
The Bees open the Prospect League season on Tuesday night against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers with a roster that includes 20 pitchers. Oreskovich also has three two-way players who played the field and pitched this season with their college teams.
“Mostly, I was just recruiting pitching for a month and a half,” Oreskovich said Monday. “Because I know how it can get during the season, so that was a main focus for me. Just having a bunch of guys we can run out there if we have to.”
The depth, Oreskovich said, will help him challenge his pitchers.
“We’ve got a lot of guys, so it can be a ‘next guy up,’ but I hope we don’t run into that problem,” he said. “Throwing strikes is number one, and that’s what we want. So it will be a good challenge for them.
“Finding guys who throw a little harder was a main thing, as was finding guys that can fill the strike zone up. I have learned that throughout the years — pitching matters in this league. You can score as many runs as you want, but if you give up more, you’re gonna lose 100% of the time. So, yeah, finding a lot of pitchers was a main goal of mine.”
The roster consists of several players who have been with the Bees before. That, too, is going to be important, Oreskovich said.
“Those guys know how it is and how it goes, and how I like to do things,” Oreskovich said. “And then there’s the comfort factor of them having been in this league. They’ve been to Community Field, they love it here. They think this atmosphere is incredible. Having guys back is huge because I already know what I’m getting. It’s huge knowing that I’ve seen a lot of these guys or they have played for me.”
Oreskovich tapped into a couple of familiar pipelines. Four players played at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington. Four other players have come from Hawaii Pacific, a program that has been sending several players to the Bees in their five years in the summer league.
“The Southeastern kids, they’ve played for Coach (Justin) Schulte, and he does a great job there — those guys are winners,” Oreskovich said. “(Hawaii Pacific coach) Dane (Fujinaka) is an awesome dude, and he knows how it is here, so I like taking their guys. I’ll take his guys any day of the week, and then, you know, it’s worked out for them as well. When they go back to school, they tend to do well.”
The Bees went 17-39 last season, 6-23 in the first half. It’s a start Oreskovich doesn’t want to happen again.
“We’re not going to have a full roster for the first week, week and a half,” Oreskovich said. “Those first couple days are just going to be kind of seeing what we’ve got right and who we can plug where. It’s going to be huge to get off to a hot start. Winning is going to be emphasized in everything we do.”
Breaking down the roster:
Pitchers (20)
Kaimana Burgo (Hawaii Pacific) — 0-0 with a 15.75 ERA in eight games this season.
Colten Clarahan (Southeastern CC) — 0-1 with an 8.68 ERA.
Kaelen Clarkson (SUNY-Plattsburgh) — 2-4 with a 4.71 ERA in nine starts
Mitchell Cox (Crown College) — 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA … 33 strikeouts in 36 ⅓ innings
Jack Duncan (Western Illinois) — Pitched in one game this season, allowing two runs. … Had five saves with a 5.47 ERA with the Bees last season.
Reese Ellison (Bethel) — 0-6 with a 7.39 ERA. Struck out 23 in 28 innings. … Can also play outfield.
Zane Frese (Winthrop) — 0-0 with an 8.44 ERA. Struck out 6 in 5 ⅓ innings.
Raul Gil (Highland CC) — 1-1 with a 9.72 ERA. Struck out 24 in 16 ⅔ innings
Danny Harris (Mesa CC) — 2-4 with a 3.93 ERA and 2 saves.
Morgan Jennings (Hawaii Pacific) — Did not play this season.
Zach Leuschen (Mt. Marty) — 3-0 with 16.00 ERA in nine appearances.
Parker Lewin (Minnesota) — Did not play this season.
Alex Logan (John Wood CC — 0-1 with a 7.62 ERA and 1 save
Ethan McDonald (Eureka) — 4-3 with a 5.92 ERA. … Had two complete games in nine starts.
Erick McKendry (Allan Hancock College) — Made one appearance, with two strikeouts in one inning.
Marshall Robinson (Faulkner) — 11.81 ERA in six appearances.
Jackson Rodgers (Western Illinois) — Did not play this season.
Shawn Scott (Austin Peay) — Struck out the only hitter he faced in one appearance.
Kyle Smith (University of Health and Pharmacy) — 2-2 with an 8.17 ERA in 12 appearances, including seven starts.
Braeden Sunken (Maryville) — 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA and 1 save. Struck out 17 in 13 ⅓ innings
Jacob Walker (Mt. Marty) — 2-3 with a 4.94 ERA and 2 saves. … Struck out 43 in 47 ⅓ innings
Catchers (3)
Griffen Bushnell (Mount Mercy) — Hit .455 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs
Abrahan Rios (Southeastern CC) — Hit .294 with 6 home runs and 34 RBIs
Danny Rollins (Murray State) — Hit .250 in two games
Infielders (5)
Dash Denton (Rock Valley College) — Hit .231 with one home run and 19 RBIs
Kooper Schulte (Iowa) — Hit .273 with 3 home runs and 25 RBIs. … Hit .373 with the Bees in 2023.
Caleb Selbers (Olney Central) — Hit. 328 with 5 home runs and 39 RBIs
Keanu Spenser (Hawaii Pacific) — Hit .353 in six games with the Bees last season. … Hit .091 in nine games this season.
Kila Teixeira (Hawaii Pacific) — Did not play this season.
Outfielders (6)
Corey Boyette (Lipscomb) — Hit .182 in 17 games this season. … Hit .286 with the Bees in 2023 and .295 last season.
Jace Figuereo (Southeastern CC) — Batted .326 with 9 RBIs this season … Hit .238 with 11 RBIs with the Bees last season.
Conor Fitzpatrick (Eureka) — Hit .356 with 22 RBIs
Connor Kave (Harper College) — Hit .333 with 1 home run and 18 RBIs. Stole 21 bases.
Caleb Klein (Southeastern CC) — Hit .333 with 7 home runs and 61 RBIs
Cole Yearsley (Winthrop) — Hit .250 with 2 home runs at 28 RBIs
Utility (3)
Noah Company (Eureka) — Hit .267 with 2 HRs and 14 RBIs … 0-3 with a 7.80 ERA
Ethan McDonald (Eureka) — Hit .139 with 6 RBIs. … 4-3 with a 5.92 ERA, with 48 strikeouts in 48 ⅔ innings.
Ryan Skwarek (McHenry) — Hit .412 with 58 RBIs … 2-2 with a 1.59 ERA, with 20 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Top photo: Keanu Spenser steals second base in a game last season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
