CornBelters Edge Out Win Over Burlington in Home Opener
NORMAL, Illinois – The Normal CornBelters bounced back from their opening day loss with a 9-5 victory over the Burlington Bees in their home opener Wednesday night at the Corn Crib.
The CornBelters jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the second inning when Jack Novak doubled to drive in Michael Kuska. The offense stayed hot in the third, as Cole Freeman launched a solo home run, followed by a Ryan Colucci RBI single to extend the lead to 5–0.
Starting pitcher Graham Kasey kept the Bees’ offense in check, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out four.
After the CornBelters turned to their bullpen, the Bees rallied in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs off reliever Eli Tritinger to cut the deficit to 6–4.
Zach Zychowski and Caleb Royer provided insurance in the late innings. Zychowski delivered a clutch two-out single to drive in two runs in the seventh, and Royer added a solo home run in the eighth to push the lead to 9–5.
The CornBelters bullpen closed out the win, with Wyatt Mammen, Nick Krueger, and Zach Courson combining to pitch the final three innings and allowing just one run.
The CornBelters improve to 1–1 on the season with the win.
They’ll face the Burlington Bees again Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Corn Crib