All good things come to an end.
The Burlington Bees were in search of their fifth consecutive victory in Prospect League play at Community field on Friday night.
But on Military Appreciation night, it was the Clinton LumberKings that showed more firepower in a 8-6 victory in eight innings.
But it was a bizarre ending in that the Bees were in the stages of perhaps snatching another improbable comeback victory. With a runner in scoring position and Lucas Krebs at the plate, the game was ended due to inclement weather. Krebs had worked the count to 3-2. There were two outs.
Perhaps lightning would strike.
It did.
Literally.
A bolt of lightning that pierced the sky halted the game as torrential rains fell seconds afterward. After seeing what the immediate weather forecasts were, officials decided that there had been enough baseball for one night. Clinton’s run in the ninth was erased. It was deemed an official game.
Clinton improved to 4-2 for the second half of the season.
Burlington dipped to 3-2.
Clinton came out aggressively, trying to steal every base imaginable and was successful in that it posted three runs in the first inning and four runs in the third inning. Clinton had eight hits in three innings. Seven of those hits were credited to Burlington starting pitcher Quinn Wilfong, before reliever Kole Sonnenberg allowed a run on a wild pitch.
The Bees tallied a pair in the second, highlighted by a triple from Juan Fernandez, who opened the frame. Fernandez ultimately scored on a grounder from Lucas Krebs to pull the Bees to within shouting distance, trailing 7-3.
Jace Figuereo led off the seventh and scored on Adam Kudronowicz’s run-producing single.
“That was tough to fight back from,” Burlington Bees manager Owen Oreskovich said. “But we still showed it. They showed fight all the way. Quinn didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but we didn’t pick him up, either.”
Trailing 8-4 heading into the home half of the eighth, the Bees found their bats and pieced together four singles during the inning to score two runs, putting them within striking distance, much like the Bees’ comeback win on Thursday night.
In the fifth inning, the Bees had a chance to tie the game with Foti Rigopoulos at the plate and the bases loaded. But Rigopoulos ultimately flew out to center field and Clinton’s four-run lead was still intact.
Sonnenberg worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the top of the sixth, striking out Clinton’s Isaac Sobieszczyk.
Oreskovich noted that Clinton played outstanding defense. He cited that the Bees’ Juan Fernandez was probably robbed of three extra-base hits. But he continues to believe that his team has likely found the keys to playing more winning baseball.
The Bees will have a chance to prove that as they head to Clinton on Saturday before a Sunday doubleheader with the LumberKings.
“Right now, I think we can beat any team in the league,” Oreskovich said.