Clinton Lumber Kings

CLINTON, Iowa — The Clinton LumberKings (22-10, 4-3) exploded for a franchise Prospect League-record 12 runs in the 5th inning and tied their league-era record with 17 hits in a 13–6 Fourth of July win over the Burlington Bees (15-17, 3-3) on Thursday night at NelsonCorp Field.

Trailing 4–1 entering the bottom of the 5th, Clinton sent 15 batters to the plate, collected eight hits, drew three walks, stole two bases, and flipped a three-run deficit into a commanding 13–4 lead. The 12-run frame shattered Clinton's Prospect League single-inning mark of 10 runs, set earlier this season, also against Burlington on June 21. It also marked the team's most runs in an inning since scoring 13 on May 20, 1957, and April 4, 1997, during their affiliated minor league years.

Sam Wiese fueled the rally with two hits and four RBIs in the inning, including the go-ahead two-run single and a two-run double to cap the scoring. He finished 3-for-4 with a walk and five RBIs. Clinton's 17 total hits matched a Prospect League-era franchise high, first reached on July 5, 2022, also against Burlington.

Burlington opened the scoring with a four-run 1st. After a hit-by-pitch forced in the game's first run, Owen Nowak delivered a two-run single and Dominic Teixeira added an RBI base hit to give the Bees an early 4–0 lead.

Clinton got on the board in the bottom of the 1st when Wiese grounded into a fielder's choice to score Drew Terpins. The Bees extended the lead to 4–1 in the 4th on a bases-loaded walk by Kooper Schulte.

The bottom of the 5th began with a Colin Coonradt RBI single. Jalen Martinez followed with a two-run double to tie the game 4–4, and Wiese's two-run single gave Clinton the lead. James Hackett added an RBI double, Jaylen Ziegler drove in two with a single, Terpins plated another with a base hit, and later stole second as Ziegler stole home on a double steal. Wiese then roped a two-run double—his second extra-base hit of the inning—to push the lead to 13–4.

The Bees got one run back in the 7th on Colin Schmitke's RBI single. Clinton's bullpen held firm, as Tyler Welch (2–0) allowed just one run across 3.2 innings to earn the win. Chance Key started and gave up four runs (three earned) over 3.1 innings. Matthew Maize and Camden Clewett combined for two scoreless innings to close it out.

Kaimana Burgo (0–1) took the loss for Burlington, giving up six runs on five hits in just one-third of an inning. The Bees walked seven and committed two errors in the loss.

Terpins finished 3-for-6 with two stolen bases, and Martinez collected three hits—including two doubles—and drove in two. Clinton stole four bases and notched eight extra-base hits on the night.

The LumberKings return to action tomorrow, facing off with the Normal CornBelters, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. Fans can watch the game live on prospectleaguenetwork.com or listen for free on wcciradio.com or tune on on 100.3 WCCI-FM.