MWL1 Burlington Bees

Bees Go Back-To-Back in Win over Clinton, 7-0

Published on May 8, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Burlington Bees News Release


CLINTON, Iowa (5/8/12) - The Burlington Bees responded to the absence of their offense in the last few games by smashing consecutive home runs in the fifth inning. The nail in the coffin for the Clinton LumberKings (12-19) came when the Bees (15-16) tacked on two more runs in the fifth and won with a 7-to-0 shut out.

Sean Murphy came into the game with two wins following a Bees loss this year. The tall right-hander' perfor- mance after a month of baseball is arguably the best on the Bees' pitching staff. He ranked fifth in ERA in the Mid- west League with a 1.57 ERA to go along with his 37 strikeouts. Despite being third in the league in the strikeout category and facing the worst hitting team in all of Minor League Baseball, Murphy didn't rely on strikeouts to get the win on Tuesday.

Murphy routinely got ahead of batters with a 0-and-1 count several times through the first half of the game. He only struck out two batters, but also surrendered five meaningless hits in a season-high eight innings. With the win, Murphy (3-2) has three wins following a Bees loss and lowered his ERA from 1.57 to 1.23 this year.

After struggling to break through in recent games, the offense tried to steal the show from Murphy in game four. The Bees got on the board in the second inning when Nick Rickles doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a two-out base hit by Eliezer Mesa. Rickles had a good game with three hits in five at bats and two doubles.

The game changed in the top of the fifth when Royce Consigli led off the inning with a deep drive over the tall wall in centerfield. Consigli's first homer of the year cut right through the wind and gave the Bees a 2-to-0 lead. B.A. Vollmuth fell behind to a 0-and-2 count in the next at bat, but fought back to a full count. Clinton's starter Ambioris Hidalgo left the next pitch at the letters and Vollmuth made Hidalgo pay by clobbering the ball to left- center. The left fielder took two steps to his left then simply watched the ball hit high off the scoreboard over the left-centerfield wall. Both home runs cleared a fence that is easily 20-feet tall.

The Bees didn't stop after the back-to-back jacks; Landaeta reached on a throwing error and scored on a double by Rickles. Rickles would eventually score on a sacrifice fly by John Nester. The offense tacked on two more runs in the next two innings and finished with seven runs on 14 hits.

The Bees return to Community Field for a three-game series with Cedar Rapids. For tickets, call (319) 754-5705 or visit www.gobees.com.

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Midwest League Stories from May 8, 2012


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