Bees open Prospect League play Tuesday

BURLINGTON — It’s been four years since the Burlington Bees organization went from professional baseball to summer college baseball because of Major League Baseball’s contraction of the minor leagues.
The Bees, though, have settled into the Prospect League, and with that comes a consistency to the approach.
The Bees open the Prospect League season on Tuesday on the road against the Clinton LumberKings, then have their home opener on Wednesday at Community Field against the Alton River Dragons.
Most of the team’s 34-player roster arrived over the Memorial Day weekend, and it is that consistency the Bees have built that has made the roster construction easier than it was in the beginning, when few knew much about the league or how the organization would adapt to a new schedule.
“Most (college) coaches know about the league,” said Bees manager Owen Oreskovich, who was a coach with the team in its first season in the Prospect League and the manager the last two in addition to his full-time assistant baseball coach’s job at Mount Mercy University. “The word’s going around Iowa, especially with Clinton and this team, that this is an extremely competitive league. I want to win, and I want guys who are going to come here and compete.”
Seven players on the roster have been with the Bees in 2022 or 2023.
“Hopefully it says that they’ve had a good experience here in how we operate and treat the players,” general manager Tad Lowary said. “It says a lot for the league as well that they’re enjoying the baseball, and the competition they face.”
Burlington, along with Clinton, lost its MLB affiliation with the contraction that came in 2020, when 40 affiliates were eliminated around the minor leagues.
The Bees have found a home in the Prospect League, a summer wood-bat league that plays a 58-game schedule. The league of Midwest markets is now at 18 teams, with teams added in Huntingsburg, Indiana and Hendersonville, Tennessee in the offseason.
“That’s the biggest change — new teams, new markets,” Lowary said.
“The league itself has become, over time, has become more cohesive in how we brand and market the league, and trying to grow the reputation and perception of the league around the country.”
The challenge each season is building a roster, but the reputation of Burlington and the league, as well as having the same manager, has helped, Lowary said.
“There’s a cohesiveness there, in keeping a consistent person there,” Lowary said. “He knows coaches, he’s built relationships.”
“Being in my third year, I’ve got some coaches who know me now and know I treat their guys right, know I expect a lot out of them,” Oreskovich said. “I’ve had some kids here have good summers, go on to new schools, and it’s been good for them.”
Lowary said the game-day experience for fans isn’t going to change much.
“We’ve added some new things around the ballpark,” Lowary said. “We’ve changed up promotions and themes, but the experience is going to be the same.”
BEES ROSTER
CATCHERS (2)
Nick Meyer (Mount Mercy) — Hit .118 in 17 games
Reese Moore (Iowa) — Third-team All-Big Ten selection. Hit .293 with five home runs and 32 RBIs.
INFIELDERS (9)
Skyler Agnew (Hawaii Pacific) — Hit .291 with two home runs and 27 RBIs.
Landon Akers (Bellarmine) — No stats this season.
Carson Bittner (Phoenix College) — Hit .313 with 11 RBIs in 41 games.
Boston Halloran (Oakland) — No hitting stats in two games.
Jackson Lindquist (Rock Valley College) — Hit .415 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs.
Merrick Mathews (Iowa) — Hitting .300 in nine games, with one home run and six RBIs.
Ty Plummer (Iowa) — No stats this season.
Kinnick Pusteoska (Tennessee Tech) — No stats this season.
Jackson Rooker (Tennessee Tech) — No stats this season.
OUTFIELDERS (6)
Luke Bragga (Tennessee Tech) — No stats this season.
Cooper Donlin (Hawaii Pacific) — Hit .313 in 32 games.
Cedric Dunnwald (Mount Mercy) — Hit .214 in 21 games. Hit .239 for the Bees last season.
Jace Figuereo (Southeastern CC) — Hit .368, driving in 14 runs.
Jackson Reid (Chandler Gilbert CC) — Hit .200 with one home run and 10 RBIs.
Scotty Savage (Milwaukee Area Tech) — Hit .280 with eight RBIs in 27 games.
PITCHERS (17)
Shea Blanchard (Hawaii Pacific) — 3-0 with a 6.21 ERA in 10 appearances with six starts. Has 19 strikeouts in 33 ⅓ innings.
Nathan Chapman (McHenry County College) — 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 5 ⅓ innings.
Ryan Donley (Oakland) — 9.00 ERA in five appearances this season. 3-1 with a 6.41 ERA for the Bees last season.
Jack Duncan (Western Illinois) — 2 ⅓ innings in three appearances for the Leathernecks, with a 23.14 ERA
Joe Evans (Morton College) — 3-1 with a 5.73 ERA in nine appearances. Had 35 strikeouts in 37 ⅔ innings.
Chase Golden (Western Illinois) — 0-0 with a 17.36 ERA in 11 appearances. Went 1-2 with a 4.86 ERA for the Bees last season, with 27 strikeouts in 16 ⅔ innings.
Noah Harbin (Maryville University) — 3-3 with a 4.06 ERA. Has 34 strikeouts in 31 innings.
Bobby Helt (Lake Erie College) — 5-5 with a 5.16 ERA. Three complete games this season. Went 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA for the Bees in 2022.
Preston Kaufman (Marian University) — 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA in four appearances this season. Had a 6.63 ERA in 14 appearances with the Bees last season.
Erik Kiewiet (Mount Mercy) — No stats this season.
Zach Leuschen (Southeastern CC) — 2-0 with a 5.68 ERA in 11 appearances this season. 1-0 with a 7.40 ERA with the Bees last season.
Vinny Mauro (DMACC) — 1-1 with a 9.22 ERA, 13 strikeouts in 13 ⅔ innings.
Jimmy McCarthy (Morton College) — 1-1 with a 12.19 ERA in seven appearances. Struck out 19 in 14 ⅔ innings.
Michael Schaul (Mount Mercy) — No stats this season.
Jacob Sjuts (DMACC) — 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA, 14 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Jackson Wohlers (Rock Valley College) — 2-3 with four saves. Has 27 strikeouts in 18 ⅔ innings.
Jacob Zahner (Southeastern CC) — 2-0 with a 6.23 ERA this season. 0-2 in nine starts for the Bees last season.