MWL1 Burlington Bees

Cole Dominates Kernels in Bees Win, 2-1

Published on June 12, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Burlington Bees News Release


CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (6/12/12) - Burlington Bees (29-35) right-hander A.J. Cole gave the Bees a great effort on Tuesday night and helped the Bees defeat the Cedar Rapids Kernels (28-37). The Bees won the game 2-to-1 after Bobby Crocker and Rashun Dixon smacked solo home runs in the third and seventh.

The Bees came into the game only 1-4 in their last five games and 2-4 on their recent six-game home stand. They came into a game against the Kernels evenly matched with the Kernels in the standings and several statistical categories.

A close game didn't surprise many, but the low scoring contest looked nothing like the last time these two teams met in Burlington. In fact, the two teams combined for 50 runs the last time they met for a three game series.

But A.J. Cole pitched five nearly perfect innings to start the game. He allowed a leadoff single to Kevin Moesquit in the bottom of the first, but followed the hit by setting down the next 14 batters. He finally walked Matt Scioscia in the fifth to break the streak, but induced a ground ball to end the inning with Scioscia at first.

While Cole looked comfortable on the mound, he didn't have such a comfortable lead considering the Bees only scored once in the first six innings. The one run came on a solo home run by Bobby Crocker in the third inning. Crocker's fourth blast of the year came on the first pitch of the third inning and scraped the sky as it soared over the left-centerfield wall. The Bees led 1-to-0 through five and a half innings.

Cole finally dealt with adversity in the sixth after allowing a leadoff double to Chevy Clarke. Zach Borenstein shot a base hit into leftfield to score Clarke who was standing at third after a sacrifice bunt. Cole surrendered the lead then allowed Borenstein to take second and third on a wild pitch and a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. But Cole struck out the Kernels' leading RBI man - Kaleb Cowart and the number four-hitter Frazier Hall.

Cole's clutch performance forced the Kernels to leave a potential run 90 feet away from scoring and kept the game at 1-to-1 after six innings. Cole (2-0) had six strikeouts in six innings and only allowed three hits, one walk, and one earned run.

The Bees gave Cole a chance for a win after Rashun Dixon clobbered his third home run as a Bee over the wall in leftfield. Dixon's home run - much like Crocker's - came on the first pitch of the seventh inning. The Bees reclaimed the lead 2-to-1 mere minutes after the Kernels had tied the game.

Jose Macias pitched three scoreless innings in relief to earn his second save and preserve the Bees' lead for their fourth win in June. Macias' performance broke a recent trend of trouble for the bullpen. The pen allowed 26 runs in the last five games before Tuesday's win.

The Bees look to win four consecutive games against Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. First pitch of game two is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. 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 12, 2012


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