The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes used timely hitting, aggressive baserunning, and took advantage of several Burlington Bees miscues to earn an 8-3 victory on Wednesday night.
Despite falling behind early, Springfield steadily chipped away before breaking the game open with a five-run stretch between the fifth and seventh innings. The Horseshoes finished with six hits and drew eight walks, while Burlington committed costly defensive mistakes that led to multiple unearned runs.
Burlington struck first in the opening inning when Foti Rigopoulos launched a solo home run to left field, giving the Bees a 1-0 advantage. The visitors added another run in the second when Rigopoulos stole second base and Johnnie Ankenbruck crossed the plate, extending the lead to 2-0.
Springfield responded immediately in the bottom of the second. With Lawson Alwan aboard, Jameson Johnson lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
The Lucky Horseshoes evened the score an inning later when Jacob Buysse came home on a passed ball, tying the contest at 2-2.
After several quiet innings, Springfield grabbed its first lead in the fifth. Micah Dean scored on Griffin Novacek’s RBI single to right field, making it 3-2. Moments later, Novacek was caught in a rundown and picked off, but Kannon Kirk crossed the plate during the play to give Springfield a 4-2 cushion.
The Horseshoes added insurance in the seventh as Burlington’s defense unraveled. Johnson reached on an error, allowing Lawson Alwan to advance and Kannon Kirk to score an unearned run. Later in the inning, General Schofield delivered the game’s biggest hit, lining a single to right field that brought home two more runs. Both tallies were unearned, but the damage pushed Springfield’s lead to 7-2.
Burlington briefly halted the momentum in the eighth. Rowen Bergeron doubled to left field, driving in Kila Teixeira to cut the deficit to 7-3. Springfield answered right back in the bottom half when Kannon Kirk singled to center, scoring Micah Dean and restoring the five-run advantage at 8-3.
Kirk paced the Springfield offense by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Novacek added an RBI hit, while Johnson and Schofield combined for four RBIs. Dean crossed the plate twice and reached base four times thanks to a pair of walks.
The Horseshoes showed patience at the plate throughout the evening, drawing eight walks and stealing three bases. Dean, Kirk, and Johnson each recorded a stolen base.
On the mound, Springfield’s bullpen proved to be the difference. Starter Hayden Steelman allowed two runs over three innings before Russell Copous entered and shut down the Bees. Copous earned the win after tossing 2.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Cobe Ross followed with 2.1 innings of one-run baseball, and Tristan Neely closed the door with 1.1 scoreless innings.
Burlington managed just four hits on the night. Rigopoulos supplied the early home run and Bergeron contributed the RBI double, but the Bees were unable to capitalize on Springfield’s pitching after the second inning.
With the victory, the Lucky Horseshoes overcame an early deficit and turned a close game into a comfortable win by capitalizing on opportunities, receiving strong relief pitching, and forcing Burlington into mistakes that proved costly throughout the middle innings.
Horseshoe Double Play! #4 Micah Dean -> #3 AJ Keely -> #19 Jacob Buysee
#10 General Schofield with a 2 RBI Single for the Horseshoes
#24 Lawson Alwan with a Hard Hit Double
#23 Griffin Novacek with a Hard Hit RBI Single for the Horseshoes
#5 Kannon Kirk with a Deep Hit Double to Center Field
#4 Micah Dean secures the Grounder and Makes the Throw to #19 Jacob Buysee