By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Blake Gaskey’s final pitch of the 89 he threw on Thursday was a called third strike to end the seventh inning.
There was no better way his night could end, in a stadium that has played a big part in his career, for a team and a manager that he knows so well.
And if it’s the last pitch he throws in a game…
“I thought about it,” Gaskey said after his 7-inning, 3-hit performance in the Burlington Bees’ 9-1 win over the Decatur Beanballers. “I thought about last year when I was here too. Same thing. But I mean, honestly, I just try not to make the moment too big.
“Yeah, it’s always fun coming back here, but to think it might be the last one, it is different.”
Gaskey struck out five Beanballers, including Noah Delgado on that pitch in the seventh inning. And he pitched the Bees one step closer to the Prospect League playoffs.
The Bees (32-22 overall, 21-8 second half) have a 1 ½-game lead on the Clinton LumberKings with two games left in the season.
Five years of college baseball for Gaskey ended in May when Northern Illinois was eliminated in an NCAA regional. But it was a phone call he interrupted earlier this season that set in motion his return to Community Field, where he pitched for two seasons at Southeastern Community College and with the Bees last season.
Bees manager Owen Oreskovich had called pitcher Riley Fuller, whom Gaskey had recommended to Oreskovich as a pitcher for the Bees before the season started, and when Gaskey found out who was calling, he had a message for Oreskovich.
“I called Riley about one of his start days, and he was umpiring with Gaskey, and Gaskey got on the phone, and we talked,” Oreskovich said. “He was like, ‘I’ll see you towards the end of the summer.’
“He loves baseball and he loves winning. Any day of the week, I’ll take him.”
“I told Coach O earlier in the summer, even though I graduated, I was trying to bring some guys to help him win,” Gaskey said. “I told him if you need me, just give me a call, and that’s what he did.”
What brought Gaskey back was simple.
“Burlington,” he said, “Being at ‘The Hive,’ playing for Coach O, everyone here on the support staff. I mean, I love it. I had my little stint in Clinton (he pitched for the LumberKings in 2024), but I’ve always come back here.”
Gaskey gave up six runs and eight hits in his first start with the Bees on July 16 at Springfield, a game which turned out to be a 16-7 win.
“I just told (Oreskovich) to keep winning so I can keep playing,” Gaskey said, smiling. “That’s all I care about.”
Gaskey made sure this start was a win. He allowed a single to Will Applegate in the first inning, a solo home run to Hampton Petzka in the third, and a single to Chase Wiese in the sixth.
“Really, I was just kind of working pitches early, working the edges early,” Gaskey said. “That’s been the name of my game for the past five years since I was working with Coach (Justin) Schulte in Southeastern. Just really get on the edges, beat them early, and I’ll be able to do what I want.”
“He did exactly what I expected,” Oreskovich said. “Like I said,he’s a guy you want on your team every day of the week.
“And I’m glad he’s on mine.”
The Bees chipped away at the Beanballers all game. They had runners on base in every inning except the second.
Burlington got two runs in the first inning. Juan Fernandez singled with one out, his 65th hit with the Bees this season, which set a single-season record for the franchise in the Prospect League. Christian Graves followed with a single, then Adam Kudronowicz’s double scored both runners.
Fernandez and Graves had sacrifice flies in the third to make it a 4-1 game, and Gaskey had plenty of run cushion at that point.
Gaskey has a coaching job lined up for next season — he is going to be an assistant at Black Hawk College in Moline, Ill.
He wouldn’t mind getting a postseason start if the Bees can make a run.
“Of course, I hope to continue playing, but obviously, I’ve already got a coaching job,” Gasket said. “Three to five years from now, I could be fighting for my life (in baseball), still trying to play, or I could be a coach in a winning program. So that’s the goal.”
Top photo: Burlington Bees starter Blake Gaskey allowed just three hits in seven innings in the 9-1 win over Decatur. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)
