By: RJ Larson

The Burlington Bees powered their way past the Quincy Gems with 16 hits to defeat the Gems 13-5.

In the first meeting of the season, Quincy managed to strike first in the second. Jayce Maag delivered a two-out RBI single and gave Quincy an early 1-0 lead. The Bees managed to answer in the bottom half of the inning, getting an RBI single from Marcos Sanchez and tie the game at 1-1. The Bees grabbed the lead in the fifth thanks to an RBI double from Lincoln Riley and a two-run double from Jackson Jones to give Burlington a 4-1 lead.

The Gems found a response in the next half inning, striking for four runs on five hits and all of a sudden, the Bees trailed 5-4. Burlington managed a response just as good, striking for four runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth. Marcos Sanchez tied things on a solo home run, and Reid Halfacre gave Burlington the lead back on an RBI double for his first extra base hit of the season. Jackson Jones then hit a high pop up to center, but Quincy’s Jackson Galloway lost the ball in the sky, and it dropped for a two-run single to give Burlington an 8-5 lead.

Burlington added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh on a fielder’s choice RBI from Nathan Ebersole and a two-out RBI double from Ben Nippolt. The Bees put the game away in the 8th on three solo home runs from Jackson Jones, Kevin Santiago, and Mason Land.

The Bees offense bounced back after being shutout for the first time in the previous game with 16 total hits, six doubles, and four home runs. Six Bees players totaled at least two hits, led by Jackson Jones who finished the game 4-5 with two doubles, a home run, season high five RBIs, and a run scored.

Garrett Langrell pitched had another great night out of the bullpen, picking up his fourth win of the season with 2.2 innings, allowing no runs, two hits, and finished with three strikeouts. The Bees will enjoy an off day on Monday, before hitting the road again in a rematch at Quincy.