Bryce Brown Homers Three Times, Bees Win In 7 Innings

Springfield, Il - It does not get any more explosive than that, Bryce Brown (Mt.Mercy University) hit three homeruns in five innings.

The Burlington Bees (11-28, 5-5) responded to yesterday's seven-inning loss with their first mercy rule victory of the year, defeating the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes (14-23, 6-5) 16-6 at Robin Roberts Stadium July 13.

Sixteen runs set a new season-high for Burlington, and the team matched their season-high in hits with fourteen.

Three Burlington Bees had three or more RBI's. Brown led the way with six, Landon Akers (Bellarmine) had four and Corey Boyette (Heartland CC) tacked on three. All three hit home runs, contributing to the team's new season-high of five home runs, surpassing the previous high of one.

The Bees scored 12 runs in the first two innings.

In the first, Cedric Dunnwald (Mt.Mercy University) walked and Jeremy Figueroa (Mt.Mercy University) was hit by a pitch to put the first two aboard.

Corey Boyette (Heartland CC) singled to score Dunnwald and get the team on the board.
After a pitching change, Brown hit his first homer of the day to the scoreboard in left field.

The line kept moving. Merrick Mathews (University of Iowa) walked and Cooper Donlin (Hawaii-Pacific) reached on a fielder's choice. Donlin's on base streak extends to 25.

Landon Akers (Bellarmine) cleared the bases with his first homerun of the season to make it 6-0. It was Burlington's first inning with two home runs this season.

After hitting through the order in the first, the Bees did it again in the second. Dunnwald was hit by a pitch to start it off.

With one out, Boyette smashed a home run to make it 8-2. It was his first home run of the season and brought his total to 14 RBIs, placing him in the top five on the team.

Burlington kept its foot on the gas and strung together a two-out rally. Mathews and Donlin started it off with a single and a double, respectively. Donlin is up to 37 hits, which is the most on the team.

Akers singled to score the pair. He also has 14 RBIs and the second-most hits on the Bees with 36.

In his debut, Michael Carrano Jr. (Parkland College) reached on a fielding error. Jackson Reid (Chandler-Gilbert CC) followed with a single that drove in two more runs, and Burlington finished the second inning with a 12-2 lead.

Brown hit his second homer of the night to give the Bees their only run of the third.

The fourth inning began with a triple from Akers. He finished three for four with three runs. Carrano Jr. scored him on a sacrifice fly for his first Burlington RBI and made it 14-3.

Boyette started the fifth inning with a single. Brown continued his magical day by hitting his third home run of the game, sending the ball to the left field scoreboard.

He now leads the team with four home runs and has accumulated 10 RBIs in just six games. Brown's home runs included a solo shot, a two-run blast, and a three-run homer.

Shea Blanchard (Hawaii-Pacific) made the start and got his first win of the season. He allowed five hits and runs over five innings with a strikeout.

Vinny Mauro (Des Moines Area CC) closed out the game for the Bees, pitching two innings and allowing just one hit and one run while striking out two.

Springfield's starter Matt Cruise received the loss.

The Bees aim to build on their momentum July 14 as they face the Normal Cornbelters (19-19, 5-4) at 6:00 p.m. at the Corn Crib.