Bees Lose the Series Finale
Sean Murphy started for the Bees and looked good through his first inning of work. Murphy struck out the first two batters and finished the facing the minimum. But the top of the second was not as kind to the big right-hander. The weather on Sunday played a role in several moments of the game.
Not only was there rain, but also the wind pushed any decently hit fly ball towards the fences. Jorge Bonifacio led off the top of the second with a skyscraper to centerfield that floated over the wall. Bees' centerfielder, Bobby Crocker could only wait and watch the long fly ball go for a solo home run. Unfortunately the inning only got worse. Orlando Calixte hit a home run after Bonifacio for the first back-to-back homers the Bees have surrendered this year.
The Bees also committed two errors in the top of the second and by the end of a long inning, the trailed 5-0 to the Cougars. The one bad inning on the mound returned for the Bees pitching staff and Murphy's line in the box score never recovered. Murphy pitched 4.1 innings and gave up six hits, six runs (three earned), and took the loss.
The Bees scored once in the bottom of the second and trailed 7-1 at the start of the bottom of the fifth. Over the next two innings, both Douglas Landaeta and Dusty Robinson hit lead off home runs, but the Bees could not put more on the board despite the good starts.
The Cougars scored two in the top of the fifth off both Murphy and Seth Frankoff, and scored again off Frankoff in the sixth. Frankoff pitched 3.2 innings and allowed four runs on five hits. Both Frankoff and Murphy gave up home runs.
The Bees comeback in the bottom of the third fell short when John Nester tried to steal second base with B.A. Vollmuth standing at third and Royce Consigli at the plate. The Cougars' catcher, Edul Escobar threw Nester out and the game was over. The Bees had scored three runs in the inning before the game ended with the tying run at home plate.
The Bees travel to Wisconsin for a three game series before returning to Burlington. For tickets, call (319)_754-5705 or visit www.gobees.com for more information.