
By WJBC Staff
BURLINGTON, Iowa – The Peoria Chiefs scored early but allowed six runs over two innings in a 6-3 loss to the Burlington Bees on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops the Chiefs to 2-2 in the second half and 42-32 overall as the series ends and the Chiefs move onto Beloit, Wisconsin.
The Chiefs grabbed a lead in the first inning against Bees starter Jaime Barria. Craig Aikin led off with a single to right-center and moved to second on a wild pitch with one out. Eli Alvarez singled home Aikin for his team-leading 37th RBI of the season and a 1-0 Chiefs lead.
Peoria added to the lead in the second against Barria. Jose Godoy led off with a single but was forced out at second on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Vaughn Bryan. Bryan moved to second on a groundout by RJ Dennard and scored on a single to center by Leo Pina for a 2-0 lead. Thomas Spitz singled to right to put two on base but Barria struck out Aikin to end the inning.
Burlington took the lead against Junior Fernandez in the third inning. Webster Rivas led off with a double off the right field wall and moved to third with two outs. Fernandez walked Michael Hermosillo and Brendon Sanger to load the bases before Rivas scored on a wild pitch. With runners at second and third, Jared Foster singled to left field for a 3-2 Bees lead. Alexis Rivera singled to center and Foster scored on a single by Ranyelmy Alberto for a 4-2 Bees lead.
Burlington extended their lead in the fifth against Fernandez. Hermosillo led off with a single and moved to second on a one-out infield single by Foster. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Rivera delivered a two-run single for a 6-2 Bees lead.
The Chiefs rallied against reliever Tyler Watson in the sixth inning. Dennard walked with two outs and Pina also drew a free pass. Spitz singled to center as Dennard scored to cut the Bees lead to 6-3 but Spitz was tagged out between first and second in a run down to end the inning.
Fernandez (5-5) took the loss as he allowed six runs on nine hits over six innings while walking four and striking out two. Harley Holt threw two shutout innings with one strikeout.