After the Burlington Bees lost to Danville on Saturday night, Bees Manager Owen Oreskovich had a simple request.

He wanted his pitching staff and his defense to start posting zeroes on the Community Field scoreboard.

Fast forward about 16 hours and Bees’ pitcher Tate Slagle responded to the request, pitching no-hit baseball for five innings.

Oreskovich also requested that not so much pressure be placed on Burlington’s bats in trying to overcome early deficits.

That was another request fulfilled as Burlington buoyed Slagle’s effort with five runs in the first three innings. Burlington was seemingly en route to a much-needed win to get the second half of the 2026 Prospect League season off to a good opening.

Then it all fell apart.

The Clinton LumberKings posted a pair of consecutive three-run innings and followed that with a two-run eighth as the Bees lost by an identical 8-5 score in a Sunday afternoon battle at Community Field.

Same score, different day.

With a heat index of around 102 degrees Sunday, Oreskovich was understandably hot under the collar after the game as the Bees dropped to 0-2, while Clinton improved to a 2-0.

“That was horrible, plain and simple,” Oreskovich said in his office. “Slagle pitched a hell of a game and for him not to get the win was ridiculous.”

Slagle retired nine consecutive Clinton batters in the third, fourth and fifth innings and had only allowed three Clinton base runners through five. Slagle allowed one hit in 5 innings of work and struck out six.

But the metaphorical wheels were about to fall off.

Clinton’s lead-off hitter, Jayden Ziegler, reached on an error before Cole Lanclos was hit by a pitch. Gavin Awbrey then singled to produce a run.

Ultimately, Slagle reached his pitch limit and had to be pulled.

Bees reliever Norm Charrett inherited a pair of base runners. After recording a strikeout, Charrett hit Carter Schueler with a pitch to load the bases. Another walk eventually led to the LumberKings’ three-run inning.

Clinton’s Isaac Sobieszczyk smashed a two-run home run in the seventh and Awbrey struck again in the eighth with a two-run homer.

Despite all of the Bees’ issues, they still had a chance to tie the score in the ninth. With two outs, Burlington’s Lucas Krebs recorded his third hit of the day. Adam Kudronowicz, who had two RBIs on the day, then walked.

With two outs and two runners on, Tanner Reinartz had a chance to at least extend the game into extra innings. Reinartz already had smashed a two-run home run earlier in the day. Clinton’s Andrew Theiss threw a vicious two-strike curveball to stymie Reinartz and end the comeback.

Despite going through the first five innings without a hit, the LumberKings ultimately finished with 10 hits on the day.

Burlington batters struck out 12 times.

Burlington’s Jake Weissenberger pitched three innings, but was tagged with the loss. Weissenberger fell to 0-3 for the season.

“We had five runs and couldn’t take on anymore,” Oreskovich said. “We have to be competitive. We can’t think five runs is going to be enough to win a game.”