Bees Complete Comeback, Beat Cape 9-7

Courtesy of the Cape Catfish:

Burlington, Iowa – Unlike their last meeting two weeks earlier when they played into the 11th inning before any runs were scored, Saturday night's rematch between the Cape Catfish and Burlington Bees had plenty of scoring and several lead changes before Burlington prevailed 9-7.

It was the fourth time this season the Bees have come from behind to defeat the Fish, giving them a 4-0 record in their head-to-head games in 2022.

The loss ended Cape's season-long three-game winning streak and dropped the team's overall record to 14-20. Burlington's record improved to 13-21 and both teams have 2-1 records in the Prospect League's second half.

Cape took an early lead Saturday night when Jackson High School alum and Three Rivers Community College infielder Lane Crowden hit a two-out, two-RBI triple, his fifth of the season.

The Bees answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second on a two-RBI single by Trey Adams (Northeastern Junior College) followed by an RBI single by Sam Monroe (Southeastern Community College), giving Burlington a 3-2 lead.

Cape tied the game in the third inning on a solo home run by catcher Blake Barton (Belmont University), his first of the year, and took the lead in the fourth when Chris Hall (Florida State College at Jacksonville) doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.

Burlington posted a run in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out RBI single by Oscar Pounce (University of Texas at Arlington) to tie the game at 4.

Cape took a two-run lead in the sixth when Southeast Missouri State's Josh Cameron singled to center driving in Hall and Andrew Sharp (West Virginia State University), both of whom had reached base on walks.

But the Bees stung the Catfish in the seventh, capitalizing on one hit, five walks, a hit batter and a throwing error to score five runs, making the score 9-6 in Burlington's favor.

Cape attempted a rally in the 9th when, with two outs, Mizzou's Cam Careswell walked, reached third on a single by Southeast Missouri State's Danny Sperling and scored on a wild pitch. After a walk to Crowden, the Catfish had runners on second and third, but Hall struck out swinging to end the game.

The Catfish finished the game with seven hits – including Barton's home run, Crowden's triple and Hall's double – and two errors. The Bees had eight hits, all singles, and also committed two errors.

Catfish starting pitcher Eli Brown from Perryville (Lindenwood University) pitched three innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking three. He was relieved in the fourth inning by SEMO's Tanner Mueller who recorded seven strikeouts and gave up no hits before being charged with all five of Burlington's runs in the seventh. Mueller took the loss and is now 0-2. Burlington reliever Nick Tampa (1-1) of Morton College pitched two scoreless innings and was credited with the win while Kyle Maurer from Purdue University at Fort Wayne picked up his third save of the season.

The Catfish will return to Cape Girardeau's Capaha Field Sunday for a 4:05 p.m. game against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes.

GAME NOTE: The Catfish were managed Saturday by assistant coaches Dave Lawson and Josh Meyer, filling in for manager Stephen Larkin who is in Cincinnati, Ohio, following the death Thursday of his father, Robert L. Larkin, in Cincinnati.