The Chaska Cubs faced St. Paul’s Air Freight Unlimited on Aug. 21 in the opening weekend of the 2026 Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament at home in Athletic Park. Sam Tyrpa was on the mound and went 6⅓ innings, six of which were hitless. The Cubs’ offense was once again ignited by the Rogers brothers in the second inning, with Walker doubling and Wyatt singling. Both would eventually score on an Air Freight error.
The Cubs added more in the sixth, with a bunt from Wyatt Rogers setting up the scoring. Wyatt Rogers eventually scored on a Hayden Anthony single. Anthony would then score on a single from Pat Fontaine, giving the Cubs a 4-0 lead. A late push by Air Freight made the final 4-3 in favor of the Cubs.
On a warm, late summer Sunday, the 29-9 Chaska Cubs faced the Coon Rapids Red Birds (21-7-1), at Schleper Field in Shakopee in the second round of the tournament. The game was anticipated to be a “pitchers’ duel.” Once again, Tyrpa started on the mound for the Cubs, while Nicholas Harrold, who has been in the San Francisco Giants system, took the mound for the Red Birds.
The first two innings saw the game go about as expected with two top-notch pitchers. Each team had a hit, and each pitcher had strikeouts to his credit. Defensively, both teams had timely plays from their outfields and infields.
In the top of the third, Coon Rapids got a man on with one out, and that batter stole second. The next batter singled to the outfield, scoring the runner from second. The Red Birds’ designated hitter reached base due to an error, moving the runner up, who eventually scored on a Cubs fielding mishap to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Red Birds.
The score remained 2-0 in favor of Coon Rapids until the seventh, when Walker Rogers reached base on a fielding error. Mac Born singled and Wyatt Rogers followed with a single that scored Walker. Born scored when Hayden Anthony reached first on another Red Birds fielding error, tying the game at 2-2.
The Red Birds’ ninth started with two outs when the third batter walked. He stole second. Another batter walked, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. With runners on second and third and two outs, another wild pitch allowed Coon Rapids to take the game, 3-2.
Tyrpa started for the Cubs and went five innings, giving up four hits and two runs, walking none and striking out nine. Nolan Kemp came on in relief for three innings. He gave up two hits and allowed no runs while striking out two. Blake Eiden finished on the mound for one inning.
“Son of a gun, it went down to the last pitch. Not the outcome we were looking for,” Cubs Coach Ben Hendrickson said after the game. “That pitcher was one of the top five that we’ve ever faced, and we hung in there with him. Sam was on today, and we played as hard as we needed to. They played tough. We’re a great team, disappointing outcome”.
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