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.