The Chaska Cubs finished their regular season on July 27 against Lyons Pub of Minneapolis (not to be confused with the Lion’s Tap of Eden Prairie). The Cubs entered that game having secured the River Valley East championship (with a perfect 12-0 record) and holding a 27-4 season record.

Matt Totten was on the mound for the Cubs against the strong and gritty Warriors (19-4).

The Warriors got on the scoreboard with one run in the first inning on an intensely warm and humid evening. Chaska countered with three runs in their half of the first with hits from Griff Wurtz and Mike Gabbard to get men on base. Alex Twenge and Tyler Polster had hits to bring in the runs.

Chaska would add three more runs in the third on four hits from Twenge, Wyatt Rogers, Polster and Jaeger Solis. Drew Benson’s single accounted for two RBIs.

With a nice 6-1 lead going into the fourth, the Warriors exploded for six runs of their own, sending 12 batters to the plate and forcing the Cubs to bring in Mason Windschitl from the bullpen.

Chaska scored two and Lyons scored one in the sixth inning to make the game 8-8 entering the ninth. The first four Warrior runners got on base, and a few key sacrifices put Lyons up for good 13-5.

Commenting after the game, Manager Bob Popitz said: “They were a good team. We hung in there and in the end, they had the runs. Tough game, our guys showed their stuff.”

Regular Season Stats

With the regular season over, the Cubs were seeded number one in Section 2A of the Minnesota Baseball Association. As the No. 1 team, they played the No. 8 team. St. Boni played Chanhassen for the right to move in that position. The St. Boni Saints won the best out of three series and earned the right to play Chaska in the first round of the playoffs. Chanhassen finished the season at 5-12-1. The Vitoria Vics were seeded No. 5 in the section and faced Waconia.

Leading the Cubs in batting for the season, Walker Rogers played 30 games and had 134 plate appearances and 39 hits for a .331 batting average. Rogers also led the team this year in triples with two. Alex Twenge led with six home runs and a team high 31 RBIs. Griff “Speedy” Wurtz led the team in stolen bases with 21.

Pitching was a hallmark of the Cubs this year. Drake Kilber (7-0) led the Cubs with 59 innings pitched, followed by Mathew Totten (2-2) with 45 innings. Nolan Kemp (6-0) and Pete Ohnsorg (5-0) were next with 41.

Kemp led the Cubs in strikeouts with 92, averaging about two per inning. Jaeger Solis had a team leading 140 put outs (not uncommon for a first baseman). Michael “Ironman” Gabbard (who seemed to have played every position except pitcher) was second with 129 put outs and 32 assists.

Hits kept the team competitive and pitching helps the team get far in the playoffs, but fine defensive play ensures the team can go toe-to-toe with opposing teams and come out on top.

On July 29, Chaska and St. Boni met in the first Section 2A playoff game at Athletic Park on an overcast but on a less oppressively hot night. St. Boni finished the Crow River Valley season at 8-18. The Cubs and the Saints played twice in the regular season, with each team winning one.

Right-hander Nolan Kemp took the mound for the Cubs and set the pace for the game with two of his nine strikeouts in the first inning. Alex Twenge got things rolling for the Cubs in the fourth with a one-out double to the far left hand corner of left field (a unique contribution from a left-handed batter). Maddox Foss doubled and drove in Twenge to put the Cubs up 1-0.

Jaeger Solis doubled the lead off the fifth and Patrick Fontaine drove him in for a 2-0 lead. The bats continued to pop in the sixth with seven batters garnering three hits to add two runs to the total. Tyler Polster’s key pinch hit helped things along.

Mike Gabbard had a great game defensively at catcher, throwing out three runners attempting to steal. In the seventh he grabbed a pitch that appeared to be lost in the dirt, but he picked it up and got the runner.

Chaska’s half of the seventh started off with two hits and two walks, followed by a clutch Griff Wurtz single. Kemp worked seven innings and struck out nine, walked only two, gave up four hits, and no runs. Blake Wenster and Mason Windschitl contributed on the mound in the later innings for the 7-0 shutout Cubs win.

Wurtz, Foss and Gabbard had two-hits in the game and Twenge, Fontaine, Solis and Foss each got a double.

Coach Ben Hendrickson shared after the game: “It was a nice comeback from Sunday. Pitching was solid tonight, and everyone contributed at the plate. This was a great way to start our playoff run.”

Chaska played at St. Boni on Aug. 1, with the Cubs winning a tight contest, 3-0. Game three of the best of five series will be Sunday, Aug. 3, at 6 p.m. at Athletic Park. At this point in the season, teams must keep winning to keep playing. Follow the Cubs playoff run at their website or at the Minnesota Baseball Association.