First Place On A Rainy Night – Baseball at The Hive

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

The Burlington Bees head into the final days of the Prospect League regular season with a rested bullpen and in first place.

The Bees’ 7-4 win over the Thrillville Thrillbillies on Thursday night was called after 5 1/2 innings because of rain and wet grounds.

The victory, combined with Illinois Valley’s loss at Clinton, puts the Bees (27-21 overall, 15-7 second half) into the Northwest Division lead by percentage points over the Pistol Shrimp.

Burlington and Illinois Valley meet at Community Field in a doubleheader on the penultimate day of the regular season next Wednesday, but the Bees head into this final stretch of the season with momentum. They’ve won seven consecutive home games, and seven of their last eight games overall.

The Bees scored four runs in the third inning, two in the fourth and three in the fifth. They had 10 hits, with every hitter getting on base at least once. Danny Rollins went 3 for 3, and Kooper Schulte and Caleb Klein each had two hits.

“Guys are locked in now and getting good (at-bats),” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “It’s a beautiful thing to see.”

Rain fell throughout the game from the third inning on, and after Thrillville batted in the sixth, Thrillbillies manager Patrick Morey met with Oreskovich and plate umpire Preston Childers as the radar showed heavier rain approaching. The game was called after a short discussion.

“The field was already wet, so we couldn’t tarp it,” Oreskovich said. “And there was lightning in the area.”

What it did, though, was keep Oreskovich from using his bullpen heading into a stretch of eight games in seven days without a day off. Starting pitcher Blake Gaskey (3-1) went six innings, allowing seven hits while striking out six.

“It does help (our bullpen),” Oreskovich said. “We’ve got what, eight games in a row? So it helps, for sure.”

Photo: Burlington Bees pitcher Blake Gaskey threw six innings in Thursday’s win over the Thrillville Thrillbillies. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)