Clinton Drops Series Finale, 4-1, in Burlington

Burlington, IA - Friday was one of those nights for the Clinton LumberKings. The bats were cooled as they couldn't muster any offense against Bees starter A.J. Cole and Burlington went on to win the series finale, 4-1, at Community Field to salvage a game in the three-game set.

Cole, who was acquired by the A's organization in the offseason in the trade that sent Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals, hurled five shutout innings. The right-hander allowed four hits and struck out five to earn his sixth win of the season against three losses.

The Bees got the scoring started in the third inning against LumberKings' starter Rusty Shellhorn. Wade Kirkland walked to lead off the frame to start the trouble. With one away, Michael Fabiaschi doubled to put runners at second and third for Burlington. With the infield drawn in, Aaron Shipman hit a blooper to center that dropped to score Kirkland. Jamal Austin over ran the ball, which allowed Fabiaschi to score to make it 2-0. Two batters later, Bobby Crocker added a sac fly to give Burlington a 3-0 lead.

The LumberKings got on the board in the seventh inning against reliever Seth Frankoff. Kevin Rivers walked to lead off the inning and Guillermo Pimentel plated him with a run-scoring single through the right side to cut the lead to 3-1. That's all they would get against Frankoff as he matched Cole with five strikeouts.

Burlington got the run back in their half of the seventh when Aaron Shipman tripled into the gap in right center. Logan Chitwood didn't need the extra run when he closed the door on Clinton in the ninth inning for his first save of the year.

With the series win, the LumberKings own a five game lead over Burlington with ten games remaining in the regular season. Clinton will welcome the Bees to Ashford University Field after the River Bandits visit for a four-game series set to begin Saturday night. KWQC-TV and DHCU present the peanut pail giveaway to fans in attendance and the "Slough Buoys" will provide a post-game concert. Clinton sends right-hander Jordan Pries (3-0, 3.67) to the mound to face right-hander Sam Gaviglio (8-8, 4.09) for the River Bandits. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00.