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By MARK DOMEIER
Staff writer
The Quad Cities Baseball Association (QCBA) entered their 15U team in a different league this year, the MBL. This gave the boys a chance to play some different teams and see a different level of talent.
At the end of the regular season, all the teams were sifted into five tiers, based on records. Playoffs would then be out of the tiers. QCBA was in the third tier and started with a forfeit win in what would have been a home game against Rochester.
They then traveled to Bloomington on July 17 and beat their opponents 17-6. AJ Deen had four hits and five RBI to pace QCBA. The score was 6-5 in favor of Bloomington after the third inning before QCBA scored five runs in the fourth. They tacked on seven more runs in the fifth for the final tally.
That set up a showdown with Minneapolis for the championship on July 25. The small-town boys took care of business against the big city team, winning 5-1. Shane Service drove in the first run in the second inning. Cameron Christopher also drove in a run, and Ryan Schlaak had two hits for the champs. Dom Olson and Brooks Gilliland spun the win from the mound.
As if that wasn't enough, four members of the 15U team were named to the all-star series of games for the league. AJ Deen, Brooks Gilliland, Dom Olson, and Ryan Schlaak participated with a team that included kids from Rochester, Byron, and Blooming Prairie. That team walked through the opposition, going 4-0, including a 23-6 win in the final game for the all-start championship.
That brought the summer baseball season for all QCBA teams to a close. 91 young men played baseball through QCBA this year. There was a lot of success along with tons of effort and improvement seen through the different levels, providing a solid foundation for the future of NRHEG Panther baseball.
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By MARK DOMEIER
Staff Writer
The Quad Cities Baseball Association (QCBA) sent two teams to the MBT State Tournament the weekend of July 19-21. The 13U team competed at the AA level in the Championship Tier while the 14/15U team played at the A level Championship Tier. Both teams had qualified for state earlier in the summer season through various state-qualifier tournaments.
The 13U team started pool play on July 19 in Lakeville against Wayzata Gold and won 9-2. Mack Gilliland led the way offensively and on the mound, going 3-3 at the plate and striking out ten batters over four innings, giving up two hits and no runs. After QCBA scored first on a Gilliland single, the third inning saw them plate four more on RBI hits from Gilliland, Tyler Piepho, Brock Holland, and Eli Hendrickson. QCBA had 11 hits and six steals.
Next up was Somerset, a team handled by QCBA 11-3. Holland went 3-3 in this game and also started on the mound, scattering nine hits while giving up two runs in five innings. Holland struck out four and walked one. The team jumped on top in the first again and broke things open in the third with five runs plated. Hendrickson drove in three runs as part of the team's 12 hits, but the team ran wild with 12 stolen bases.
The last game in pool play was held on July 20 and saw QCBA fall to Rosemount 12-2. After Rosemount scored in the top of the first, QCBA answered when Hendrickson stole home after singling earlier. But Rosemount jumped ahead for good in the third with four runs. Rosemount stroked 17 hits and stole 16 bases in the runaway victory.
The local boys advanced to bracket play with their 2-1 record and met Rochester in the win-or-go-home part of the tournament. QCBA won 8-6, but it was nip and tuck after Rochester took a 2-1 lead in the first. QCBA went back in front in the fourth inning with Holland, Wyatt Hendrickson, and Memphis Schlaak each scoring. QCBA was able to hold on after that, even though they led 8-2 at one point. Gilliland and Owen Schlaak each had three hits along with two each from Alec Wyrum, Piepho, and Jacob Klaras.
The next game would be the last for the 13U team, though, as they lost to eventual champion Minnetonka 7-3. Gilliland pitched a strong game to start, striking out 11 batters in 4.1 innings, giving up four hits and two runs, but Minnetonka took the lead in the fourth and extended it from there. The three teams the QCBA team lost to this year included three of the top four teams ranked in the state.
The 15U team played the same weekend in Farmington and Lakeville. Their first pool play opponent was Minnetonka, a game QCBA won 7-4. QCBA struck early and often, scoring Dom Olson in the first and then five more runs in the second, highlighted by a Cameron Christopher steal of home. Brooks Gilliland started for QCBA and threw six innings, giving up two runs while striking out two and walking one. Dakota Schlaak had three hits on the night, part of 14 total for the team.
The next game was a wake-up call as Wayzata shut out the boys 5-0. Ryan Schlaak started and gave up one unearned run over five innings, striking out four and walking three. However, Wayzata pulled away late as QCBA struggled to get anything going.
The team rebounded well in the final pool game against St. Michael-Albertville, winning 13-3 behind seven runs in the first inning. They added three more in the second and the route was on. Levi Whiteside started for QCBA, relieved by Zander Hanna, both throwing effectively. Sean Lassahn was 3-3 at the dish as part of 17 hits by the team.
On to bracket play, and QCBA really stepped up. They played Prior Lake in the first round and showed them the door quickly, winning 21-8. After Prior Lake went on top 4-1 in the first, QCBA scored nine runs in the second inning before piling on with nine runs in the seventh inning. Whiteside and Gilliland again threw for QCBA on the road to the win. Gilliland had 4 RBI while Schlaak, Lassahn, and AJ Deen each blasted three hits.
The next round saw QCBA defeat Lakeville North 7-4 after spotting the big school a four-run lead. QCBA scored seven unanswered, though, to take the W. Olson earned the win in relief. Deen and Schlaak each had two hits in the win.
The semifinals saw QCBA take apart Farmington 13-2. Whiteside and Olson each pitched in the game and Schlaak and Lassahn both drove in three runs as part of a 17-hit onslaught.
The fun finally came to an end in the championship, however, as QCBA fell 5-2 to Minneapolis. Gilliland gave the hometown boys their only lead in the third on a 2-run single, going up 2-1. But Minneapolis took the lead for good in the third inning, then added a 2-run home run to cap things off in the fourth. The boys had nothing to hang their heads about, though, bringing home second place in a highly-competitive bracket.
Both teams were from the smallest community at their tournaments, outside of Medford in the 14-15U bracket. It just goes to show that small-town boys, who have played together their whole lives, can sometimes slay giants, though with a bat instead of a slingshot. The teams also had a huge contingent of fans who came to their games; one estimate had the number at 150 people from the NRHEG area, no surprise to sports fans around here, who have always traveled well to support young athletes.
