BURLINGTON - GAME RECAP

One of the good things about Class A ball is that the games are always unpredictable. The players are young and largely unknown, so entering the game, one really doesn't know what to expect. 

The game that we witnessed pitted the Quad Cities River Bandits, who were leading the league at 23-8, and Burlington's Bees. After two scoreless innings, Quad Cities hit a lead-off homer in the 3rd to take a 1-0 lead. Burlington tied the game in the 5th on 3 singles and a sacrifice fly, but another home run by Quad Cities in the 6th made it 2-1. 

In the 8th, the Bees got a man to 3rd on a balk but left him stranded. In the 9th, with 2 out, they loaded the bases on walks, but Bandits' reliever Luke Martin struck out the only batter he faced and the game was over.

There were the normal promotions to keep the fans in the game, and we won something in the What's In The Box contest. With an announced attendance of 652, and about half that in the park, it was easy to enter and win something. My favourite promotion was Thirsty Thursday with 2-for-1 beers and sodas.

The game was an ideal ballgame, with lots of good pitching, a couple of homers, and some chances for the home team to win. In such a cozy ballpark with nice weather, it gets a 8/10 rating.

Bees starter Mike Stodolka