Bees punctuate victory by scoring six runs off Doggy Paddlers bullpen

BURLINGTON, Iowa — A battle of the bullpens and late-inning uprises teetered in the Burlington Bees favor Thursday night.

The Bees scored six runs against three Quincy Doggy Paddlers relievers in their final three at-bats, and the Doggy Paddlers stranded five runners on base over the final three innings in suffering a 10-5 loss in Prospect League play at Community Field.

Quincy (8-9) struck first as Tyler Butina belted a solo home run in the first inning and Jimmy Koza followed with a solo home run in the third inning.

However, Burlington (10-10) responded with a run in the third inning and a three-run three-run home run from Corey Boyette in the fourth inning. A Koza RBI single in the fifth inning made it a one-run game.

The Bees extended their lead with three runs in the sixth inning as Mason Schwalbach cracked a two-run double and Kooper Schulte followed with an RBI triple off Doggy Paddlers reliever Jason Schmierer. Quincy’s Brady Lowe allowed two runs in the eighth inning and another in the ninth inning as the Bees improved to 5-3 against the Doggy Paddlers this season.

Koza finished 2 for 4 from the leadoff spot, while Quincy’s Jameson Johnson also went 2 for 4.