It is unknown whether or not Burlington Bees pitcher Blake Gaskey made his final appearance in a Bess uniform.

In fact, it is unknown whether or not Gaskey made his final appearance on the mound for anyone.

Although the Bees have not clinched the second-half division championship, Burlington took another impressive step toward that goal with a 9-1 victory over the Decatur Beanballers in Prospect League action on Thursday night at Community Field.

The Bees have won 15 of their last 16 games.

Gaskey, who commutes to the ball field when called up, is going to be a coach at Blackhawk Community College, but doesn’t plan on playing any more baseball.

Unless, of course, it in for the playoffs.

Burlington’s win kept it ahead of Clinton in pursuit of the Northwest Division Western Conference crown. If the Bees ultimately prevail, Gaskey will turn out to be one of the late-season additions that will be proven to be a work of orchestrated genius. It was a call from Burlington Bees manager Owen Oreskovich to Bees pitcher Riley Fuller that started the process of Gaskey to return.

In front of a crowd of 1,170, Gaskey turned in a gem. If it was his last game, it was a great way to bid farewell to baseball.

“I told (Oreskovich) that if he ever needs me, just give me a call,” Gaskey said.

Gaskey commutes on the night he performs from Davenport after graduating from Northern Illinois University. When Oreskovich reached Gaskey, he didn’t hesitate to don a Bees uniform one more time.

“He did what I expected him to do,” Oreskovich said. “He did exactly what I thought he was going to do. He just goes about his business.”

Gaskey threw 89 pitches for seven full innings, striking out five. In retrospect, Gaskey made only one noticeable mistake on the night, when he gave up a homer to Decatur’s No.9 hitter, Hampton Petska. It was one of just three hits that Gaskey surrendered. Gaskey had easily dispatched the first eight hitters he faced.

“I was hitting the edges early,” Gaskey said. “I was looking for the edges and we just got to them early.”

Gaskey was buoyed by a Bees’ offense that made it clear early they were intent on keeping their winning ways on the right track. Trying to stretch doubles into triples and singles into doubles, the Bees were on a constant search for extra bases. They were thrown out a few times, but one of Burlington’s runs was attributed to the pressure it had been putting on the Beanballers throughout the night.

“We got thrown out a few times, but you put some pressure on them and make them think about what they are doing,” Oreskovich said.

Decatur committed two errors, but wild pitches often put Burlington base runners into scoring position.

Offensively, Dalton Miller accounted for three-fourths of the cycle and knocked in a run. Adam Kudronowicz also collected three hits, two of them doubles. Juan Fernandez and Jace Figuereo each had two hits. Six of Burlington’s 12 hits were for extra bases.

Fernandez continued his pursuit of hitting .400 and raised his average to .405. Fernandez’s two hits gives him sole possession of a team Prospect League record of 66 hits for one season.

“He’s an incredibly hard worker,” Oreskovich said. “I think he’s a ballplayer.”