Bees Rally Falls Short

(Burlington, IA) - The Burlington Bees (11-20) lost their second straight game, losing to the West Michigan Whitecaps (23-12), 9-6, on Friday night at Community Field. 

After the Bees failed to score a run with the bases loaded in the first inning, the Whitecaps took the lead in the second inning. With one out, Cole Bauml singled to right and then moved to third on a double off the wall, off the bat of Josh Lester. West Michigan took the lead on an infield single from Austin Athmann, giving the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead. West Michigan made it 2-0 in the third on a Blaise Salter RBI double.
The Bees got on the board in the bottom of the third inning. Juan Moreno started the inning with a single to left and then moved to second on a Brennon Lund single. Jahmai Jones made it three straight hits for the Bees, knocking in Moreno, cutting the deficit in half at 2-1.
West Michigan batted 11 times in the fourth inning, scoring six runs on five hits and two Bees' errors, extending their lead to 8-1.
The Bees tried to rally in the seventh. After a one-out single by Moreno, Lund doubled, putting runners at second and third. Jone then drove in his second run of the night with a sacrifice fly, making the score 8-2. Jordan Zimmerman drove in Lund with a broken bat single. Sam McDonnell continued the offense, scoring Zimmerman on an infield single, cutting the deficit to 8-4.
With the Bees trailing 9-4 in the ninth, Mario Sanjur drove in two runs with his second hit of the game, but the Bees could not come any closer, losing 9-6. 
Whitecaps' starter Austin Sodders (4-0) picked up the win while Andrew Vinson (2-4) was charged with the loss. Jason Foley (3) earned his third save of the season. The Bees and the Whitecaps finish the series on Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. Sam Pastrone makes the start for the Bees against Gregory Soto for the Whitecaps. For tickets visit gobees.com or stop by the Bees' office. For more information, call the Bees at (319)-754-5705.