By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
The answer to five was six.
The answer to five was one over the next four.
It sounds like a couple of crazy math equations, but it was how the Burlington Bees defeated the Normal CornBelters 14-10 in Saturday’s Prospect League second-half opener at Community Field.
The Bees fell behind 5-0 after the top of the first inning, then came back with six runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, starting a night of scoreboard action that ended when reliever Zach Leuschen got Jackson Smith to ground out to end the game with runners on second and third.
“Going down five, before you even hit, it was kind of tough,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “But you know what? You could see it didn’t bother our guys. They’re going to go up there, take their (at-bats), and piece something together.”
“First inning, out on the field, the energy wasn’t there,” said shortstop Kooper Schulte, who had four hits and drove in three runs. “Once we got the six runs, we had great energy. We knew we could pull this thing out.”
Bees starting pitcher Danny Harris gave up four hits in that first inning, including a three-run home run to Jack Novak.
But Burlington bounced back right away, starting with Cole Yearsley’s single to lead off the inning.
“Cole got us going,” Schulte said. “And the whole lineup kept it going.”
Yearsley scored on Miles Risley’s single, then Mason Schwalbach drove home two runs with a single. Schulte followed with a home run to left-center field, and Caleb Seibers followed with the first of his two home runs, and suddenly the Bees had a 6-5 lead.
Normal tied the game in the top of the second inning on an unearned run, then Harris (2-2) held them scoreless over the next three innings.
“I was hoping after that first inning (Harris) would go out there and throw up zeros, and he pretty much did that, with one run over the next four innings,” Oreskovich said. “He showed he still had it, and I wanted to see that out of him.”
The Bees took the lead with a three-run third inning. Schwalbach’s double drove in Jace Figuereo. Seibers hit a two-run home run two batters later.
Burlington finished the game with 17 hits.
Openers seem to agree with Schulte — he hit for the cycle on Opening Day, going 5-for-5 in the 12-5 win over Quincy.
“It’s been a while since the other opening night,” Schulte said.
Schulte, who hit .268 at Iowa this season, had a 4-for-23 stretch at the plate for the Bees midway through June, but he’s batting .444 since then. He’s batting .337 overall and is currently on a five-game hitting streak.
“He was seeing the ball well tonight,” Oreskovich said. “He got a couple of infield singles on good hard-90s. He plays the game right, he plays the game hard. And that’s always good to see.”
Schwalbach, Schulte and Seibers, the 5-6-7 hitters in the Bees’ lineup, combined to go 9-for-15 with nine runs batted in.
“When you can have that kind of production from that part of the order, you’re going to have a good night,” Oreskovich said.
The Bees finished the first half in second place in the Northwest Division. The message for the second half, Schulte said, was easy.
“We just want to keep going,” he said. “Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs.”
Box score
Photo: Bees shortstop Kooper Schulte (9) is greeted at home plate by Mason Schwalbach (23) and Caleb Seibers after his two-run home run in the first inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
