The Chaska Cubs were 2-1 as they entered their game on May 17 against the Le Sueur Braves (1-0).
Coming off their May 10 win over Baseball 365, the Cubs secured a 9-7 win over St. Peter on May 15. While the weatherman had originally predicted a chance for rain, the conditions turned to be absolutely perfect for baseball at Historic Chaska Athletic Park.
The game started off on the right foot for the Cubs when lead-off batter Patrick Fontaine (CF) got an opposite-field hit to right to get on base. Mac Born (SS) walked, and then Alex Twenge (DH) doubled, scoring Fontaine. Wyatt Rogers (2B) grounded to third, but this allowed Born to score, and Chaska took a 2-0 lead off two hits by the end of the first inning.
Chaska’s offense continued strong as they got the lead-off batter on base in the first five innings of the game.
In the third inning, Jaeger Solis (3B) got a lead-off hit and scored when Griff Wurtz (LF) reached first on an error by the first baseman.
With a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, Danny Davis (C) reached first when the first baseman could not handle the throw. Danny stole second base and moved to third on a wild pitch. He would score on a Solis single to right. Fontaine walked, moved forward on Solis’s hit, and scored off a Born hit to right. Solis was driven home on a sacrifice infield hit by Twenge, making the score 6-0.
Le Sueur got on the board in the top of the fifth with a walk and a few infield oversights. Their shortstop scored the two runners with a single.
Drake Kilber started on the mound for Chaska and held the Braves scoreless through four full innings. In his five innings of pitching, he struck out four, walked two, and gave up three hits and two runs — both unearned. Andy Dauwalter came in to finish the game for the Cubs on the mound, giving up no runs, striking out two, and walking only one.
Jaeger Solis thrilled the crowd with a home run to far right field to add another run for Chaska in the seventh inning. Born and Twenge got hits and later scored off hits by Bill Miller (pinch-hitting for Wyatt Rogers) and Justin Johnson (1B) to bring the final score to 9-2. The game ended when a Le Sueur batter hit his own runner going from second to third, a unique way to end a competitive game.
Post-game, Cubs Manager Bob Poppitz was pleased with the afternoon.
“We’re getting solid play out of the guys we have now,” he said. “We’ll be getting more guys over the next few weeks. We’re looking forward to having everyone here. We’ll be getting more pitchers, which will give us some depth. Drake and Dewy have good stuff and did great today.”
Drake Kilber joined the Cubs in 2012. He indicated at the end of last season that it might be his last.
He shared that he “felt the pull of the ballpark.”
“I’d be bringing my family to the ballpark anyway — my family’s support is a great motivator,” he said. “I’m so very fortunate to play this game and have them here”
Team veteran Andy Dauwalter joined the Cubs in 1997, a bit before many of his teammates were born. The Carver native shared what keeps him going.
“I like throwing the ball,” he said. “I’ve got a set of stuff I’ve used for a while, and it works. The guys I get to play with are just the best. It’s something to have the young guys come up and learn. It’s a great game, and town ball keeps me young.”
