BEES 13, LUCKY HORSESHOES 11: Slagle’s Homer Starts A Noisy Night For The Offense

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Tate Slagle made some noise in his final weekend with the Burlington Bees, and his teammates followed his lead.

Slagle’s three-run home run started a six-run third inning, and the Bees surged to a big lead before holding on for a 13-11 win over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes in Saturday’s Prospect League at Community Field.

The Bees moved back into first place in the Northwest Division heading into the final week of the regular season. This win, combined with Clinton’s 17-6 loss to Illinois Valley, gave Burlington (29-22 overall, 18-8 second half) a one-game lead over the LumberKings. Burlington has five games remaining, four at home, while Clinton has six games, with three of those on the road.

“All we’re worried about is if we win,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “We can’t control what they do. The plan is to keep winning every game we go out there, and hopefully it works out for us in the end.”

Slagle, who will be a sophomore at Iowa in the upcoming season, is leaving the Bees after Sunday’s game against Quincy. The home run he hit off Springfield starter Cobe Ross (1-5) was his first of the season.

Slagle, a two-way player, is hitting .204 with 10 runs batted in. He made seven pitching starts for the Bees, with a 2.59 earned run average over 31 ⅓ innings, allowing 21 hits while striking out 33.

“I think the biggest thing I’ll take away is just friendships — these guys are amazing,” Slagle said. “But I think baseball-wise, I think I got a lot of confidence in the box, even though I didn’t really show that I had confidence with my stats and everything. But I feel pretty comfortable in the box and on the mound too. I feel really comfortable, and I dialed in the (strike) zone this year and kind of got my velo up a little bit, so that was good.”

The Bees trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third. Dalton Miller walked, then Sean Kang was hit by a pitch. Slagle followed with his home run, the Bees’ first hit of the game, and when Troy Peltz would hit a three-run homer later in the inning, Burlington had the lead.

“We were kind of dead, and then I got us started with that home run, and then Troy followed, and then off we went,” said Slagle, who also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Lane Spieker added a three-run home run in a five-run fifth inning as the Bees expanded the lead 13-4, but Springfield wasn’t done.

The Lucky Horseshoes scored two runs in the seventh, three in the eighth, and then two in the ninth. They had runners on first and third with two outs in the ninth before General Schofield grounded out to end the game.

“Late in the season right now, all that matters is winning,” Oreskovich said.

Mitchell Cox (2-2) was the winning pitcher in relief.

“He probably got a little tired there at the end,” Oreskovich said of Cox, who didn’t allow a hit in 3 ⅓ innings before Griffin Novacek’s single started the Springfield seventh inning. “But he did a great job in the middle innings.”

Photo: Tate Slagle (left) and Bees manager Owen Oreskovich celebrate after Slagle’s three-run home run in Saturday’s game. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

BEES 21, LUCKY HORSESHOES 2: Batting Around … And Around

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

It’s that time of the season in the Prospect League when the haves are putting up a lot of runs against the have-nots.

Case in point — the Burlington Bees’ 21-2 win over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes on Tuesday night at Community Field.

The Bees, who won their ninth consecutive game and are percentage points out of the second-half lead in the Western Conference’s Northwest Division, have 38 players on their roster heading into their final nine games of the half. The Lucky Horseshoes, 4 1/2 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference’s Central Division, have just 27.

The discrepancy showed as the Bees pounded Springfield pitching, scoring in every inning except the sixth in a game stopped in the seventh inning by the league’s 10-run rule.

Burlington had 20 hits — all but three were singles — and each starter had at least one hit.

“It’s fun and enjoyable to watch,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “You know, I feel like we’ve been hitting like that the last week and a half, two weeks. It’s very exciting to watch.”

The Bees are a half-game better than the Clinton LumberKings in the standings, but Clinton has the edge in percentage points. The LumberKings (12-7 second half, .706) have played five fewer games than the Bees (15-7, .682). The two teams meet Thursday and Friday in Clinton for the final time in the regular season.

“We’ve got to worry about what we’re doing,” Oreskovich said. “We’ve got two against them later this week, so we could worry about what they’re doing then when we’re playing them. We’re just trying to go out there and win every game we can right now and take our approach that we’ve been taking, and run with it. And it seems like it’s been working, so we’re going to stick with the plan.”

The Bees have outscored their opponents 132-52 in the winning streak. They are hitting .344 in that stretch.

They were relentless in this game, sending nine batters to the plate in the first two innings, 10 batters in the third and fourth inning, and 11 in the fifth.

Rowen Bergeron, one of five players to have three hits in this game, drove in six runs. PJ Hamel drove in four runs. Kolt Kurzman and Tate Slagle each drove in three runs — Slagle was the last Burlington starter to get a hit, clearing the bases with a bases-loaded double in the fifth.

“I feel like they’re all locked in,” Oreskovich said. “They’re ‘playing the game’ too, which is a saying I have. Like, you’ve got a guy at second, we might not have to bunt every single time, we’re going to try to hit the ball the right side, and we’re getting some base hits just trying to do that too. The guys are playing the game at the plate right now, and you know, we’re playing really sound baseball.”

Bees starter Braden Vanderheydt (1-0) took advantage of all of the offense and controlled the Lucky Horseshoes, allowing just two hits and two walks over five innings to get the win. Ty Mikkelsen and Brady Richards finished the final two innings.

Photo: Burlington’s Christian Graves scores one of his five runs in Tuesday’s win over Springfield. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

BEES 16, DOGGY PADDLERS 8: No Cycle, But The Win Streak Motors Along

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Troy Peltz knew when he went to the plate, but his Burlington Bees teammates were reminding him.

“They were like, ‘Cycle watch. Cycle watch,’” Peltz said, laughing.

Peltz didn’t hit for the cycle in the Bees’ 16-8 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers in Sunday’s Prospect League at Community Field — his home-run bid in the eighth inning fell about 40 feet short — but his three-hit day helped the Bees win the eighth consecutive game and stay a half-game behind the Clinton LumberKings for the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot.

“I feel like we’re getting hot at the right time and everything is coming together,” said Peltz, who drove in five runs in the game.

Peltz, hitting third in the lineup, drove in a run with a double in the fifth, drove in two runs with a triple in the sixth, then added an RBI single in the seventh. All he needed was a home run when he came up in the eighth with the bases loaded and the Bees up 12-8.

“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t thinking about (the cycle),” Peltz said. “It was definitely something I was thinking about. I tried for it, but…”

Peltz did hit a fly ball to left field that went 305 feet and was caught by Kamryn Link as Foti Rigopoulos tagged up from third and scored.

Adam Kudronowicz, up next, did get a home run — a 370-feet three-run shot to right field that provided the final margin.

“He finished the cycle for me,” laughed Peltz, who is Kudronowicz’s teammate at Iowa Western Community College. “I guess you can call it the ‘Iowa Western cycle.’”

Troy Peltz watches his double in the fifth inning. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

Peltz and Kudronowicz, who also drove in five runs, have been a big part of the middle part of the Bees’ lineup all season.

“It seems like (Peltz) comes up big at all the right times,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “He got that double in the fifth to make it 5-2, and that triple made it (7-5). It seems like he’s coming up at the right times, and he’s a guy you want in those situations.”

The Bees were down 5-1 before they scored three runs in the fifth, four in the sixth, two in the seventh and six in the eighth.

“Earlier in the year, we weren’t taking leads and then finishing them off,” Oreskovich said. “And we’re doing that right now, which is really good to see. I’ve got a great group of guys, and you know, I love all of them and appreciate them being here. So we’re going to make a run at this thing here at the end of the year.”

Johnnie Ankenbruck had a three-hit day out of the eighth spot in the Bees’ lineup, including a solo home run in the seventh inning. Ankenbruck, Jace Figuereo and Juan Fernandez each scored three runs.

Aiden Terronez (2-3) was the winning pitcher, going six innings. Kade LaCoste got the save.

Burlington has Monday off, then begins a week that includes the final games of the season against the LumberKings Thursday and Friday in Clinton.

“We’re just worried about the next game,” Oreskovich said. “You don’t want to look ahead to Clinton and then maybe lose one or two of those games early next week. We can’t do that. So we’re just focused on the game at hand. Obviously we all know that we’ve got them at the end of the week. But we’ll worry about that when we get there.”

“Everybody seems like they’re having fun,” Peltz said. “And that’s when you play your best baseball.”

Top photo: Troy Peltz steals second base in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

BEES 12, RIVER DRAGONS 9: A Night Of Free Bases

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

It was a slugfest score without much slugging.

The Burlington Bees’ 12-9 win over the Alton River Dragons in Saturday’s Prospect League game at Community Field started late because of rain, and took almost 3 1/2 hours to play.

It wasn’t exciting, but it served its purpose for the Bees (24-21 overall, 13-7 second half), who won their seventh consecutive game. Burlington moved with a half-game of Clinton for the Northwest Division’s second-half playoff spot.

There was little in the way of offensive fireworks on a night when the Bees held a post-game firework show. The two teams combined for 17 hits, but Burlington pitchers walked 11 River Dragons, while Alton pitchers walked 10 Bees. Throw in seven hit batters and two wild pitches, and whatever traffic clogged the bases for both teams was self-inflicted.

The Bees led 3-1 after the first inning, but neither team had a hit, a sign of what was to come in the game.

Burlington seemed to put itself into position to win by the 10-run rule with a seven-run fourth inning to take a 12-2 lead. But Alton, which has the worst record in the league at 4-39, came back with three runs in the fifth inning, single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, then scored three runs in the ninth before Bees reliever Jake Weissenberger got Charlie Berry to ground into a double play to end the game.

Adam Kudronowicz and Kade Knock each had two hits for the Bees.

Payton Hodges (1-0) was the winning pitcher, while Nick Castellanos (0-2) was the losing pitcher.

The Bees play host to Quincy in Sunday’s 4 p.m. game.

Photo: Bees second baseman Rowen Bergeron tags out Alton’s Caynen Patterson. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

BEES 13, DOGGY PADDLERS 3: It’s All About Plan B

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Owen Oreskovich has managed the Burlington Bees in the Prospect League long enough to know that, when the final weeks of the season arrive and roster comings and goings begin, there had better be a plan in place to survive the changes.

Lane Spieker was part of that plan.

Spieker, in just his second game with the Bees, had two hits and drove in four runs in the 13-3 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers on Wednesday night at Community Field.

The Bees (21-21 overall, 10-7 second half), who have won four consecutive games, stayed 2 ½ games behind Clinton for the second-half playoff spot in the Northwest Division.

Spieker just finished his junior season at Mount Mercy, where Oreskovich is an assistant coach, and he was one of the three Mustangs Oreskovich wanted for the final days if the Bees were going to make a playoff push, joining outfielder Kade Knock and first baseman Christian Graves.

“It’s huge to get guys like that,” Oreskovich said. “It gets some guys off their feet and gets them some rest. It’s a blessing for us.”

“It’s been super fun,” Spieker said. “Especially getting here right now, being with a bunch of guys that I didn’t know before, and really getting to know them and already having fun with them, being with Coach O and some of my teammates from Mount Mercy, and the people of Burlington really welcomed me. It’s been really fun.”

Spieker hit .313 with 14 home runs and 49 runs batted in for Mount Mercy this season, so Oreskovich knew that plugging him into the lineup in the fifth spot was the right fit.

Spieker had a sacrifice fly in the first inning, drove in two runs with a third-inning triple, then had an RBI single in the sixth.

“It’s nice to see him hitting like that right away,” Oreskovich said.

“It’s just being loose and finding my swing again, and luckily it’s been coming pretty easy so far,” Spieker said. “So yeah, just keeping it all sweet and simple, and just being me.”

Bees shortstop Juan Fernandez extends his hitting streak to 17 games with a sixth-inning double. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

Spieker had a lot of traffic in front of him all night.

• Leadoff hitter Jace Figuereo singled twice and walked once.

• Juan Fernandez, hitting in the second spot, walked twice and was hit by a pitch, and scored three runs.

• Graves, hitting third, singled and walked.

• Adam Kudronowicz, hitting fourth, singled, reached on an error, hit a two-run home run in the fourth, and walked in the sixth.

“Fig, he’s always working at bats,” Spieker said. “He’s doing really well. Juan’s really good too. When people in front of me are smashing the ball, that makes my job a lot easier too, because that means they’ve got to come at me, and I’m just going to do my job.”

Fernandez extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He is batting .371 for the season, and .444 in the streak.

“He’s just an incredible baseball player,” Oreskovich said. “He’s simple in everything he does with his approach, and sees the ball well. He’s seeing it well right now, obviously. He’s getting good swings off on pitches. When he does get the two strikes, he’s a tough out. So putting it in play is what he’s doing so well right now.”

Talon Jennings (1-2) was the winning pitcher. Kyle Smith (1-3) was the losing pitcher.

Top photo: Lane Spieker slides into third on his third-inning triple. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

THE MONDAY HIVE: Bergeron Brings Power To Bees’ Lineup

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Rowen Bergeron is a long way from home, but he brought his power with him.

Bergeron hasn’t been with the Burlington Bees as long as some of the others — there was this little matter of playing in the NJCAA World Series — but in his time with the team has put himself among the Prospect League leaders in home runs.

Bergeron has played in 18 games with the Bees, but is tied for fourth in the league with eight home runs. By contrast, Springfield’s Griffin Novacek, who leads the league with 13 home runs, has played in 33.

Bergeron said his approach at the plate has made a difference.

“I’ve always swung it pretty well,” said Bergeron, a freshman this season at LSU-Eunice who is from Sunset, Louisiana. “I’ve always hit the ball pretty hard, but I think I’ve kind of unlocked a little bit of power when I started relaxing at the plate. What has worked for me is I haven’t been trying to get a hit, but I’ve been trying to hit the ball hard. I can’t really focus on the result or the outcome. All I can focus on is if I hit the ball, they’ve got nine guys out there that are trying to get me out. So all I can do is me versus the pitcher. I’m going to hit the ball hard wherever it goes, and sometimes that’s over the fence.”

Bergeron only had two home runs in 24 games for LSU-Eunice this season, but Bees manager Owen Oreskovich knew he could be a power hitter in the middle of the lineup.

“When I was recruiting him to come here, I looked up his numbers on Prep Baseball Report and they were impressive,” Oreskovich said.

Bergeron didn’t play his first game with the Bees until June 10 — LSU-Eunice had qualified for the NJCAA Division I World Series, where the Bengals’ run ended in three games.

Bergeron then made the 15-hour drive to come to a place where he had never been.

“It was definitely something,” he said of the adjustment. “Obviously, switching to a wood bat, that takes time. But the atmosphere, it’s really not that much different from Louisiana. The food’s a little different, but the people are super nice in Burlington. They’ve kind of welcomed me. My teammates welcomed me. They’re super great, super encouraging, and the transition has been really great.

“I love this place.”

It helped that some of Bergeron’s family came to see him play in a three-day home stretch in late June. They got to see his two-homer game against Quincy in a 12-2 win on June 23, but just having them here meant a lot to Bergeron.

“I mean, they’re driving up here, 15 hours, just coming here for three days,” Bergeron said. “They got to cook me some good Louisiana food, some gumbo. So it was amazing. I got to play in front of them, and they brought my grandma.I was lonesome for them. I’m far from home, so I was glad I got to see them.”

Bergeron has hit .309 for the Bees. He had driven in 21 runs, and scored 21 runs, but his impact has been felt off the field as well, Oreskovich said

“He’s very relaxed,” Oreskovich said. “He doesn’t let the last out bother him, he just gets back at it. So it’s a really, really cool thing to watch. Also, he’s an incredible human being. He’s got the positive vibes in the dugout. He means a lot to this team.”

Bergeron has appreciated the pace of summer baseball, but said the relationships he has made have been just as important. It’s something he has reflected on as the season heads into its final weeks.

“It’s going to be over, and I think about that often,” he said. “I just moved into a (host) family for two months that I love now, and I’m going to leave, and I might not see them again for a long time. I love them — they’ve been taking care of me for two months, so it’s kind of going to be hard to tell them goodbye. The relationships I built over here at the ballpark … summer ball is a crazy thing. You make best friends, and then it’s over.”

Bergeron is going to head back to LSU-Eunice to contend for a starting spot, and hopes to attract the attention of four-year schools.

“It gets super intense in the South,” said Bergeron, who grew up as an LSU fan. “Obviously, we’re big into sports — we’ve got LSU and we’re in the Southeastern Conference and all that. Sports is just massive over there. It’s sweltering. It’s humid. It’s intense. But I mean, that’s where I grew up. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love it.”

He’s gotten to experience the sports interest in Iowa living with Matt and Anika McVey, his host parents. Matt is a big Iowa fan, Bergeron said, and he’s found that out being in their home.

“The room I’m living in is just decorated with Iowa stuff,” Bergeron said, laughing. “But I think I’ll slip something from LSU in there before I leave.”

Photo: Rowen Bergeron watches one of the eight home runs he has hit for the Burlington Bees this season. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

BEES 8, PISTOL SHRIMP 7: Battling Back To Keep Pace

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

It was a game that couldn’t get away, and the Burlington Bees made sure it didn’t.

Juan Fernandez scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the 11th inning to lead the Bees to an 8-7 win over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in Sunday’s Prospect League game at Community Field.

The Bees (19-21 overall, 8-7 second half) stayed three games behind the Clinton LumberKings for the second-half playoff spot in the Northwest Division.

Burlington tied the game in the ninth and 10th innings to stay alive, then grabbed the win in the 11th.

“Every win matters now,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “It was a whole team effort tonight, and these guys want to win.”

Fernandez, who started the inning on second base on the league’s extra-inning rule, moved to third with one out when a pickoff throw from Illinois Valley pitcher Kaeden Schatsiek (0-2) went into center field. Rowen Bergeron walked, and Troy Peltz was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Illinois Valley brought the infield in, but with Johnnie Ankenbruck at the plate Schatsiek’s wild pitch got past catcher Owen Anderson, allowing Fernandez to race home as the Bees celebrated.

“I kind of think that’s been our MO all season,” Oreskovich said. “We haven’t won a couple games that we probably should have, but we’ve been in them by coming back late. Stuff like that tends to turn one way or the other sooner or later. You start winning games like that, and then you expect to win them. That’s really important.”

The Bees tied the game in the ninth inning when Fernandez scored on a passed ball. Then, after the Pistol Shrimp scored two runs in the top of the 10th, Burlington matched that in the bottom of the inning when Peltz scored on Tanner Reinartz’s RBI single and Tate Slagle scored on a dropped popup by Illinois Valley shortstop Joey Ireland.

Burlington got out of the top of the 11th without surrendering a run. Third baseman Dalton Miller threw out Chase Roberts at the plate, and then with two on and two out Bees reliever Zach Troxel (3-0) got Ethan Silva to ground out to end the inning.

The Bees led 4-3 going into the sixth, but surrendered the lead when Silva singled in Drew Church and Tyler Reyburn scored on Ireland’s sacrifice fly.

The Bees have Monday off and will play at Quincy on Tuesday.

Photo: Juan Fernandez (5) gets a hug from Burlington Bees teammate Mitchell Cox after scoring the winning run in Sunday’s game against Illinois Valley. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

Three Former Bees Selected In MLB Draft

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Three former Burlington Bees went in the final rounds of the Major League Baseball draft on Sunday — a sign, Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said, of what has been built in the organization’s six seasons in the Prospect League.

Outfielder Owen Nowak went to the Houston Astros in the 12th round. Outfielder Caleb Klein went in the 15th round to the Atlanta Braves. Infielder Kooper Schulte was selected in the 20th round by the New York Mets.

“It’s really cool,” Oreskovich said after the Bees’ 8-7 win over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp on Sunday at Community Field. “You know, it’s really exciting, especially for the organization, this town, and you know, for me too a little bit.”

All three players played for Oreskovich last season, with Schulte also playing for the Bees in 2023.

“Three unbelievable guys, too,” Oreskovich said. “They’re very talented at baseball, but they’re incredible human beings too. It means a lot for this organization, and I think it’s really cool that all three of them were on the team last year (the first Bees team to qualify for the Prospect League playoffs).”

Nowak hit .364 with the Bees last season with three home runs and 28 runs batted in. He batted .318 this season at Middle Tennessee State this season, with eight home runs and 37 runs batted in.

Klein batted .307 with two home runs and 23 RBIs last season for the Bees. He hit .316 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs for Southeast Missouri State this season.

Schulte, a local product from nearby New London, Iowa, hit .373 with the Bees in 2023, then hit .341 with four home runs and 48 RBIs last season. He played two seasons at Iowa, hitting .268 last season and .274 this season.

Oreskovich said putting players into professional baseball can be a selling point to recruiting players to join the Bees in the college summer league.

“You can tell guys who you want to come here, ‘Hey, look at what we’ve done,’” Oreskovich said. “I’ve used that in the past but yeah, you can use that as a selling point for sure. Hopefully we get a couple more drafted here in the next couple years, and I think we can.”

Photo: Kooper Schulte was one of three former Burlington Bees selected in the Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

THE MONDAY HIVE: Kudronowicz’s Relaxed Approach At The Plate Is Working

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Adam Kudronowicz came to the Burlington Bees this summer as a two-way player.

His biggest impact has been at the plate.

Kudronowicz is hitting .390 heading into the two-day All-Star break, ranking seventh in the Prospect League. He is coming off a week in which he hit .520, including back-to-back 4-for-4 games against the Clinton LumberKings as part of a streak in which he reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances.

Kudronowicz, coming off his freshman season at Iowa Western Community College, has taken a calm approach at the plate in his first college summer league experience, and it’s working. 

“I think it’s just being relaxed, and just really telling yourself, ‘I have adjustability, I’m an athlete,’” Kudronowicz said. “Try not to think about it, not stressing about anything too much, kind of just go out and play and like flowing, not forcing anything.

“Him in the box right now, I don’t think there’s anyone hotter,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “He’s taking good pitches, swinging the pitches you should swing at, and he’s getting the barrel on a lot. How he’s taking his (at-bats), he’s kind of relaxed, more chill, I would say.”

It’s an important summer for Kudronowicz, who played in 19 games at Iowa Western with just 26 at-bats, while making just two appearances as a pitcher, throwing just ⅔ of an inning.

Kudronowicz has made three pitching appearances with the Bees, with a 2.70 earned run average in 3 ⅓ innings. His biggest contribution has been at first base and as a designated hitter.

“I was thinking of him as a two-way player when he came here,” Oreskovich said. “But he’s been hitting the ball so well.”

“I think kind of one of my bigger focuses was seeing where I would be at it in the mound,” Kudronowicz said. “Coming into last fall, I saw myself as more of a pitcher. I think it’s kind of shifted, so I kind of wanted to just give myself this summer to see where I stood as a two-way player, and I think like my hitting has really just blossomed. It kind of showed me what to focus on.”

Kudronowicz, who was a third-team all-state selection as a senior at Mukwanago High School in Eagle, Wisconsin, had committed to play baseball at the Division I level at Central Florida before the NCAA put in new roster limits.

“I get a call that I’ve got to find a new home,” Kudronowicz said. “So I go out (on social media) and I post that I’m now uncommitted and within five minutes I have Iowa Western reach out to me saying, ‘Hey, we’re interested. I think them being the first school to reach out just put them on the map. I visited a handful of schools but when I went to Iowa Western it was stunning. The stuff they told me, I could see myself really developing there, so that was my choice.

“It was disappointing (not going to Central Florida, but it was also kind of just trusting God’s plan, understanding that that wasn’t necessarily the path for me. You see all of the guys go D-I and just end up transferring after one year. I didn’t want to fall into any trap like that, so I think going somewhere like Iowa Western just is going to help me in the long run.”

Kudronowicz started the summer with just three hits in 22 at-bats but has hit .491 since then. He was the Prospect League’s hitter of the week for the week of June 16-22, when he hit .583 with six doubles.

“Att first I was kind of like I didn’t know how to adjust (to the wood bat),” he said. “I was downsizing my bat, NowI’m swinging just as long and as heavy as I did with the metal bat, kind of just treating it the same, not changing anything. Guys say with a smaller barrel, you’ve got to be more accurate, but it’s really you just can’t think about it.”

Kudronowicz has been working on his pitching as well, going with more of a sidearm motion. Right now, though, it’s hard for Oreskovich to take him out of the lineup.

“I mean, it feels good,” Kudronowicz said of his recent run. “It kind of reinforces that, with all the work you’re putting in, you’re on track, like no need to change anything. No need to force, just keep doing what I’ve been doing, and keep rolling.”

ALL-STARS

Three Bees will be playing for the Western Conference in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Lafayette, Indiana — infielder Lucas Krebs and pitchers Jake Weissenberger and Riley Fuller.

Krebs is hitting .336 with three home runs and 30 runs batted in. Fuller is 1-3 with a 4.33 earned run average, with 27 strikeouts in 27 innings. Weissenberger is 1-4 with three saves, with 22 strikeouts in 15 innings.

Photo: Adam Kudronowicz ranks seventh in the Prospect League in batting average. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)

LUMBERKINGS 8, BEES 6: A Bolt In The Night

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Lucas Krebs was one strike away from the end of the game, one ball away from reaching first base and bringing the tying run to the plate for the Burlington Bees.

Then a bolt of lightning behind the right-field fence, and the torrential rain that followed, ended the night.

The Bees’ last opportunity ended with a severe thunderstorm that hit in the ninth inning of Friday’s 8-6 loss to the Clinton LumberKings in a Prospect League game at Community Field.

The storm that hit came too quickly for the tarp to be put on the field, and the unplayable conditions that followed from the inch of rain that fell in an hour forced an end to the game. Because of that, the game reverted to the last completed inning, with the LumberKings leading.

The Bees (15-17 overall, 4-3 second half), who had a four-game winning streak snapped, fell a half-game behind the LumberKings (18-12, 4-2) for the lead in the Northwest Division heading into a three-game series at Clinton this weekend.

“It’s huge,” Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said of the weekend, which includes a game Saturday night at a doubleheader on Sunday. “You know, they’re playing a good game right now, and I think we are too. The way we’re playing right now, I think we can beat anyone in the league, so I’m very confident in how we’re going to finish up this second half, and I like the way it started already for us.”

Burlington fell behind 7-1 heading into the bottom of the third inning, but chipped into the LumberKings’ margin until the game was washed out. They scored two runs in the bottom of the third, a run in the sixth, and two in the eighth.

The Bees had 14 hits. Adam Kudronowicz was 4 for 4 and reached base five times. Rowen Bergeron had three hits.

“That’s tough to fight back from, but you know, we still showed some fight,” Oreskovich said. “I’m fine with the guys and how they went about that game, and they showed fight all the way up until the end.”

Clinton had scored a run in the top of the ninth to make it 9-6, but Jace Figuereo reached with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Krebs was up with two outs when the storm hit.

Jack Robertson (1-0) was the winning pitcher, while Bees starter Quinn Wilfong (3-1) took the loss.

Photo: Burlington’s Juan Fernandez slides into third base on his triple in the third inning. (Photo by Steve Cirinna)