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Bees Win Slugfest in 11th, 16-15 over Bandits

June 10, 2012 - Midwest League (MWL) Burlington Bees

BURLINGTON, Iowa (6/10/12) - The Burlington Bees (28-34) outlasted the Quad Cities River Bandits (30-33) and won 16-15 on a walk-off single by Wade Kirkland in the 11th inning. In a game that saw 14 extra-base hits, a bloop-single finally ended a high-scoring affair.

The Bees actually scored first after B.A. Vollmuth hit an RBI single to centerfield that scored Sean Jamieson in the first. The Bees led 1-to-0 after one inning but the score would change quickly. In fact, with the game taking placed during the day and the wind helping fly balls soar, the teams changed the scoreboard in first, second, third, fourth, fifth seventh, ninth, and 11th frame.

Seth Frankoff started for the Bees but only lasted 2.2 innings and allowed seven hits and six earned runs. He allowed two home runs to Tyler Rahmatulla in the second and third. Frankoff had to leave the game in the third with the Bees trailing 6-to-1. Rahmatulla did just hurt Frankoff. He actually had a career day and went 6-for-6 with two home runs, two doubles, and seven RBIs.

But the Bees responded by scoring two runs in the third on a triple by Eliezer Mesa. Mesa finished the day by going 4-for-6 with four RBIs and a run scored. The Bees allowed another run to score in the fourth inning with Chas Mye on the mound and trailed 7-to-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth.

The Bees nearly broke the fourth frame of the scoreboard by erupting for seven runs. Chih-Fang Pan started the rally with a base hit to right and with the bases loaded, Rashun Dixon grounded into a fielder's choice that allowed Pan to score. Vollmuth scored on a single by Mesa with runners at the corners. Bobby Crocker lined a base hit to right that scored Rashun Dixon and pushed Mesa to third. Shipman walked to load the bases with one out for John Nester who lofted a double into right-centerfield.

The Bees still weren't done. Nester and Shipman eventually scored on a two-out double by Pan in his second at bat of the inning. The Bees scored seven times to take a 10-to-7 lead that lasted until the seventh inning. Pan went 2-for-2 with a run and two RBIs in one inning.

Brent Powers relieved Mye and faced bad luck with the first batter when Vollmuth committed an error at third to start the inning. Vollmuth finished with three errors in the game. Powers allowed three unearned runs in the top of the seventh before David Mota replaced the lefty. Mota didn't find much success either; the hard-throwing righty gave up a run and gave Quad Cities an 11-to-10 lead heading into the Bees' half of the seventh.

Luckily for the 848 fans in attendance, the Bees responded with five runs in the bottom of the seventh. Most of the help came from an RBI double by Jamieson and a pinch-hit sacrifice fly ball by Wade Kirkland. Vollmuth and Dixon added RBI doubles and Dixon scored on an RBI single by Mesa. The Bees had a 15-to-11 lead heading into the ninth.

Jonathan Joseph had pitched an easy top of the eighth inning, but allowed four runs that tied the game in in the top of the ninth. The big blow came on a game-tying two-run home run by Anthony Garcia.

But Joseph (1-2) kept pitching and earned his first win of the season because of Wade Kirkland's clutch at bat in the 11th. With Jamieson at second base, Kirkland dropped a two-out single into shallow centerfield that allowed Jamieson to score. The hit marked the second time Kirkland has delivered a walk-off hit in the 11th inning this year.

The Bees play the rubber match on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. They send their team leader in wins, Drew Granier (8-2) to the mound in search of a better performance on the mound. Overall, ten out of 11 pitchers from both teams gave up at least one run in Sunday's game.

For information on Bees baseball and promotions, call (319) 754-5705 or visit www.gobees.com.

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Midwest League Stories from June 10, 2012


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