Cubs Strong Weekend
June 9th-11th
The Cubs made a statement this past weekend by taking wins over the St. Francis Silverbacks and the Ramsey Renegades
Friday night in Quamba the Cubs took down St. Francis by a score of 11-1. Both the pitching and hitting were on fire. Cole Steffen (3-4,1HR,3RBI) led the way by starting off the 2nd inning with a no-doubter blast. Lucas Athey (3-4,2B,RBI) and Justin Krie (3-3,RBI) followed in suit having great hitting games as well. On the pitching side Chase Oslin (7IP,13K,6H,2BB,1ER) started the game for the Cubs and looked dominant earning himself the win. James Oslin (1IP, 2K,2BB) tossed an inning himself to close the game out.
Sunday evening the Cubs traveled down to Ramsey to take on the Renegades. The bats carried over from Friday night as the Cubs put up 5 runs in the first inning. This helped propel them to a 12-2 victory. Every starter ended up with a hit but leading the pack was Jagger Steiner (3-5,RBI), Logan Sjoberg (2-4,RBI,BB), Kevin McFerran (2-5), Caleb Koch (2-3,RBI,BB), and Carter Gmahl (2-4). On the pitching side of things Logan Sjoberg (7IP,9K,4H,6BB,2ER) took this game the distance throwing a complete game and getting the win.
The Cubs have a busy weekend ahead of them in Quamba as they take on the Braham Snappers Friday, June 16th. Then on Saturday they take on the Rum River Bandits. Lastly to end the long weekend on Sunday a exhibition game against the Albertville Anglers. Hope to see you all there! Go Cubs!
Action Packed Weekend- 7/8/22-7/10/22
Friday night the Cubs took on the Braham Snappers in a league game that took place in Quamba. Hits weren't too hard to come by as the Cubs had 7 hits while the Snappers had 8 of their own. Kevin McFerran lead the way offensively for the Cubs with a 2 run HR with multiple other Cubs getting a hit as well. Both teams ended up using multiple pitchers. Quamba started with Bryce Oslin (4.1IP, 6K, 0ER), then James Oslin (1.2IP, 2K, 1HBP, 0ER), and lastly Lucas Athey Jr. (3IP, 3K, 1BB, 0ER). The Braham Snappers started with Jonah Johnson (3IP, 2K, 2BB, 3HBP, 5ER), followed by Jesse Johnson (4IP, 1K, 3BB, 0ER) and Kohl Horsch (1IP, 1K, 0ER). Quamba started out the game by scoring 7 runs in the first four innings while the Snappers scored 1 of their own. The score stayed 7-1 up until the 9th inning when Braham was able to plate two runs to push the final score to 7-3 in favor of the Quamba Cubs.
Saturday the Cubs took on Chisago Lakes Bulldogs in an exhibition game that was 11-3 in favor of the Quamba Cubs
Sunday Quamba make the trip down to North Branch to face the North Branch Nighthawks. The Cubs started with Chase Oslin on the mound (6.1IP, 9K, 2BB, 2HBP, 1ER) followed by Logan Sjoberg (2.2IP, 2K, 2BB, 0ER). Offensively the Cubs were able to pick up 12 hits throughout the game. Leading the way was Logan Peterson going 3-3 with 2 RBIs and 1BB. Caleb Koch collected 2 hits, one being a double, Jagger Steiner collected 2 hits as well.
Quamba's next game is an exhibition game Wednesday night at 7:30 (7/13/22) against the Nowthen Knights. Next league game is Friday 7/15/22 against the Princeton Panthers.
Fourth of July Comes Early- 7/1/22
Friday night the Cubs welcomed the Hinckley Knights to town in one of the biggest games of the year for both teams. On the mound to start the game for the Cubs was Chase Oslin (7IP, 11K, 2BB, 1HBP, 1ER) who was relieved by Logan Sjoberg later in the game (2IP, 2K, 1BB, 1HBP). The Knights went with Isaiah Hasz (6.1IP, 5K, 3BB, 1ER) and was later relieved by TJ Johnson (1.2IP, 4K, 3BB, 0ER). The Knights started off the game quick as they plated a run in the 1st inning making the score 0-1. The score would stay this way until the 4th inning when the Cubs would finally plate a run of their own pushing the score to 1-1. An eventful 8th came upon both teams when the Knights started out the inning getting the first batter of the inning on. The next batter, in a full count (3-2), had to wait to finish his at bat when one of the lights at the Quamba field lit on fire and started an early 4th of July firework show for the crowd. The solution that both teams came up with was to resume the game in Hinckley. Both teams made the trip over to Hinckley and resumed the game there right where they left off. This was a crucial turning point in the game as the batter got to keep his 3-2 count and ending up striking out. The Cubs came out in the bottom of the 8th plating 2 runs to make to score 3-1 in their favor. The Knights weren't going down easy as they had runners on base in the 9th inning but couldn't plate any of them leading to a Quamba Cubs 3-1 victory. Offensively leading the way for the Cubs was veteran Brandon Schmidt who had 2 hits. Four other Cubs were also able to collect a hit. This win pushed the Cubs into sole possession of first place in the divison.
Cubs are busy all of next weekend; having three total games (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and look to go 3-0 on the weekend. Quamba takes on Braham, Chisago Lakes (Exhibition), and lastly North Branch.
Cubs Survive The Weekend- 6/24/22-6/25/22
After a tough loss last Sunday to East Bethel the Cubs looked to bounce back this weekend and try to go 2-0. Friday night Chisago Lakes came to town for a classic under the lights game. Hits for both teams were pretty even as the Cubs had 9 hits while the Bulldogs had 8 hits. Quamba was in control for most of the game as Chase Oslin (9IP, 17K, 3BB, 0ER) kept the Bulldog bats quiet most the night. The Bulldogs went with more of a committee pitching strategy starting with Ryan Sanvik (3.2IP, 1K, 2HBP, 2ER), then Collin Hackl (2.1IP, 3BB, 0ER), and lastly Nate Zingerman (2IP, 2K, 0ER). The Cubs held onto a 3-0 lead up till the 7th inning where they were able to plate two runs to make it a 3-2 game. Quamba quickly responsed by scoring two of their own runs to extend the lead back to three. No more runs would be scored after this leaving the final score 5-2 and a Cubs win.
Quamba was right back in action the next day as they took on the Ramsey Renegades in Quamba. Logan Sjoberg was on the mound for the Cubs and had himself a solid outing (9IP, 9K, 6BB, 1HBP, 2ER). Ramsey used a few arms starting with Payton Brown (3IP, 2K, 2BB, 1ER), then Tyler Cowden (2IP, 2K, 2HBP, 0ER), finally Tanner Vogel (3IP, 4K, 1ER). Hits were close between the two teams as Quamba had 9 hits while Ramsey had 7 of their own. The Cubs started out with a 5-0 lead up until the 5th inning where Ramsey plated 3 runs. The Renegades would plate 2 more runs in the next two innings pushing the score to 6-5. The Cubs wouldn't score again instead holding the Renegades scoreless and winning the game 6-5.
Up next for the Cubs is the sought after game against the Hinckley Knights in Quamba. The game is on Friday night at 7:30pm.
Cubs Lose Close One- 6/19/22
On a hot Sunday night the Cubs traveled to St. Francis to take on the East Bethel Bandits. It was a hot one considering the temperature was in the high 90s. The weather brought out the hot bats as both teams rallied up their fair share of hits. The Bandits had 13 hits while the Cubs had 10. Logan Sjoberg started on the mound for the Cubs (6IP, 7K, 2BB, 2HBP, 3ER) and was relieved by Caleb Koch (2IP, 1K, 4BB, 4ER) while the Bandits had Joe Solberg on the mound (9IP, 1K, 1BB, 4ER). The game was pretty close the whole way through until the Bandits took a late game lead scoring four runs in the bottom of the 8th inning which proved to be enough as the Bandits took down the Cubs 7-9.
Quamba looks to bounce back this upcoming weekend when they take on the Chisago Lakes Bulldogs (Friday) and the Ramsey Renegades (Saturday).
Quamba Breaks Blue Devil's Curse- 6/17/22
Friday night the Quamba Cubs took down the Mora Blue Devils 13-2. This is the first win over the Mora Blue Devils for coach Luke Athey since he has taken over the Quamba Cubs. Chase Oslin started on the bump for the Cubs (6IP, 9K, 3BB, 1HBP, 1ER) and had a spectacular outing while Derek Graves started for the Blue Devils (4IP, 5K, 1BB, 2ER) and didn't have his usual shutdown game against the Cubs. Defensively the Blue Devils had seven errors while the Cubs only had one error all game. This was the big turning point in the game allowing Quamba to gain and keep momentum. It was all Quamba in this game as the Cubs scored in six out of the seven innings played. The bats were truly on fire as the Cubs racked up 12 hits compared to Mora's four.
Quamba Looks to stay in the win column when they travel to St. Francis tomorrow to take on the East Bethel Bandits in one of the hottest games of the season.
Cubs Over Ramsey 8-0 In 2nd Round of Regions
After earning a bye in the first round of the Region 1C Minnesota Baseball tournament by finishing in second place in the Eastern Minny League North Division, the Quamba Cubs squared off with the #5 seed Ramsey Renegades on Sunday, 8/2/20. The Cubs came out on top in this one by the score of 8-0 behind the outstanding pitching performance of Chase Oslin. Oslin had great command of his fastball and off speed pitches throughot this game resulting in 7 and 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Oslin breezed through the first 7 innings before running into some trouble in the 8th inning. After retiring the first 2 batters of the 8th inning, a couple of Ramsey batters reached base on a couple of hits followed by a walk and Oslin was then relieved by Logan Parker-Sjoberg. Parker-Sjoberg got Quamba out of this bases loaded jam by striking out Ramsey's #3 hitter. Parker-Sjoberg then pitched a scoreless 9th inning preserving the combined shutout.
The Quamba bats were also alive and well in this ball game as they collected 12 hits on the day. Leading the way in the hitting department was second baseman, Caleb Koch, who had an outstanding day at the plate with a double and 3 singles. Parker-Sjoberg also had 3 singles and also hit a deep drive to left field that bounced off the glove of the Ramsey left fielder. Catcher, Kevin McFerran, also contributed a couple of hits including a solo home run to deep right center. McFerran had 3 RBI's on the day. Right fielder, Justin Krie, added a couple of hits, a double and single, and Shortstop, Lucas Athey Jr. had the other Quamba hit, a single. Defensively, the Quamba ball team played great defense throughout the game. The lone error came on a great play by second baseman, Koch, who snagged a line drive and attempted to double off a Ramsey runner on first base but the throw to first had to be rushed and was just a bit off the mark. When you factor in pitching, defense, and hitting, it was the most complete and decisive win Quamba has had in this COVID-19 shortened season.
Moving forward, the Quamba Cubs will get another opportunity to try and knock off Region 1C powerhouse Mora on Sunday, 8/9/20 at 5 PM at Brennan Field in Hinckley, MN. The other 2 Region 1C undefeated teams are the Isanti Redbirds and the Rum River Bandits. Over the past 3 seasons the young Quamba ball team has been able to compete well against a veteran Mora team but just has not been able to find a way to score enough runs to get over the hump. Mora has one of the best pitchers in the league and region in Derek Graves who has stymied the young Cubs in the past. Oslin and Parker-Sjoberg are also fine pitchers in their own right and if they do what they are capable of and the Quamba defensive players continue to play the way they have been this could be great ball game. Hoping to see a lot of fans in attendance Sunday night.
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Cubs Lose to Blue Devils, Graves
On Sunday, 7/12/20, the Quamba Cubs traveled to Mora to take on the Mora Blue Devils and lost by the score of 4-0. Going into the game the Cubs were hoping to keep the score low as they were facing Derek Graves, one of the most formidable pitchers in the Eastern Minny League. Graves has handled the Cubs well in the past and today was not much different. By game's end, Graves had a complete game shutout with 19 strikeouts. The Cubs only managed one hit on the day and that was a double by center fielder, Justin Krie, who was left stranded. Logan Parker-Sjoberg managed a walk and stole 2nd and 3rd base but was also left stranded. The only other Cubs hitter to safely reach first base was pinch hitter, Cody Haggberg, who was hit by a pitch late in the game.
Logan Parker-Sjoberg was the starting pitcher for Quamba and he again was able to go 6 innings allowing only 1 earned run. Parker-Sjoberg struck out 5 in 6 innings of work. Mora scored their first 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Mora center fielder reached on an error and stole second base. Graves' brother, Derek Graves, was intentionally walked to set up a force at any bag situation as there were 2 outs. This managerial move proved to be a failing proposition as a wild pitch negated the force out situation. The next batter then hit a routine grounder to third but a low throw went past the first baseman allowing both of the Graves brothers to score. Mora catcher, Darin Erickson, then lined a single to right scoring Troy Jones. That was all the scoring Mora would need to secure this victory although they did get another insurance run in the bottom of the 8th inning off reliever, Lucas Athey Jr., on a 2 out RBI single by Logan Graves. Graves knocked in second baseman, Brian Kiel, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.
In sum, you can't win too many games when you score no runs and collect only 1 hit. The Quamba ball club appeared to be deflated after Mora scored the 3 runs in the third inning. Momentum definitely shifted when Mora got on top. Hind sight is always 20/20 and had Quamba been able to secure the third out of the third inning the game could have remained scoreless until the 8th but again that's baseball for you. Defensively, Quamba had 3 errors on the day which is too many. Quamba will get another shot at Mora on Friday night in Quamba. Game time is 7:30 PM. Chase Oslin is slotted to start on the hill for the Cubs on Friday night. It is possible that Graves may be the starter again for Mora so this could be another challenging evening for hitters on both sides. Hoping to see a lot of fans out at Quamba on Friday night. If you do come out to the ball park, please be sure to bring a lawn chair so you can practice social distancing.
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Oslin Earns Complete Game Shutout in Cubs Win
On Friday, 7/10/20, the Quamba Cubs hosted the Braham Snappers in front of another pretty large crowd and walked away with a 6-0 win. The story of the night was the pitching of Chase Oslin who pitched a complete game shutout while also striking out 14 Braham batters. Braham managed to earn 4 singles which were scattered well enough to prevent any runs from scoring. The first 3 Braham batters reached in the first inning on 2 walks and an error but Oslin came out of that 1st inning unscathed by picking off the leadoff hitter and striking out the final 2 batters of this inning. It was pretty smooth sailing for Oslin until the 7th inning when Braham managed to collect a couple of hits and another Quamba error but this rally was again snuffed out by another Oslin strikeout. Again, Oslin finished with 14 strikeouts while only allowing the 2 bases on balls. Defensively, Quamba committed 3 errors- a throwing error, a dropped line drive, and pretty routine grounder. All 3 Quamba players who committed the errors would tell you that they would ordinarily make those plays.
In the hitting department the Cubs were lead by center fielder, Logan Parker-Sjoberg, who collected 3 singles, catcher, Kevin McFerran, and second baseman, Caleb Koch, also collected 2 hits. McFerran had the only extra base hit (a double) of the evening. Other Quamba players collecting hits were Justin Krie, Brandon Schmidt, Jordan Nelson, and Blake Oslin. Multiple players had single RBI's and McFerran and Parker-Sjoberg each stole 2 bases.
In sum, it was a nice win on a nice Friday evening in front of a lot of spectators. Quamba's overall record is now 4 wins and 2 losses and their Eastern Minny North League record is 2-0. The next opponent for the Cubs will be the Mora Blue Devils at Mora on Sunday, 7/12/20, at 2 PM in an Eastern Minny League North Division game. During the 2019 season, the Cubs competed well against the perennial state tournament bound Mora team, however, Mora beat the Cubs 4-2 and 5-3 (on a late inning 3 run HR). Quamba and Mora will also square off again on Friday, 7/17/20 at 7:30 PM in Quamba. Quamba will also squeeze in an exhibition/non-North Division game vs. the St. Francis Silverbacks on Monday, 7/13/20 at 7:30 PM in Quamba.
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Cubs Sneak Past Braham Snappers
On a steamy Monday night the Quamba Cubs put another win in the victory column by coming from behind against the Braham Snappers, an Eastern Minny League North Division opponent. Although the game was played in Quamba, the Snappers were the home team on this night as both scheduled games between these two teams were scheduled to be played in Quamba this season. The 4 runs the Quamba ball team scored were difficult to come by in this affair. Despite only managing to collect 3 hits on the night, the Cubs were able to produce enough runs to get the win.
Braham started the scoring out by getting a run in the 1st inning after Braham's leadoff hitter, Jesse Johnson, was hit by a pitch and later scored on a single. Braham's other run was scored in the 3rd inning after a leadoff walk scored on an error. Logan Parker-Sjoberg started on the mound for the Cubs and pitched another fine game allowing 2 runs (1 unearned) over 6 1/3 innings. Braham did collect some hits on this night but many of the hits were scattered throughout. Chase Oslin entered the game in relief of Parker-Sjoberg and got the win. Oslin also pitched very well as he struck out 4 batters in his 2 2/3 innings and allowed only 1 hit. A big defensive play was made by catcher Kevin McFerran, who hustled after a wild pitch and was able to throw a strike to Oslin at home plate to get a big out when the Snapper base runner tried to score from 3rd base in the bottom of the 7th inning. This play may have sparked the Quamba team as they scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th inning. Those 3 runs scored after Quamba's first 2 hitters drew walks and both eventually scored on a big RBI single by Jordan Nelson and a big ground rule double by Jagger Steiner. Nelson also had another RBI single in the top of the 4th inning. Nelson led the way in the hitting department with 2 RBI singles with Steiner collecting 2 RBI’s on the other hit for Quamba. Other than the 3 RBI hits by Nelson and Steiner, the only other noteworthy offensive statistics were McFerran and Steiner drawing 3 walks and Lucas Athey Jr. stealing 3 bases after drawing a couple of walks. Parker-Sjoberg also stole a couple of bases as well.
Defensively, Quamba had 3 errors on the night which is not something this team likes to have happen. We have a lot of players who take pride in making good fundamental plays and our goal is to play as clean defensively as possible and help the pitchers and catchers out, especially on these steamy nights. Quamba's next game will be this Friday, 7/10/20, at 7:30 PM in Quamba and it will be a re-match with the Braham Snappers. Should be another good one so come on out and watch the Cubs try to get another win. Quamba's overall record is 3-2 and 1-0 in the Eastern Minny League North Division.
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Nighthawks Prey on Cubs Late
On Sunday, 6/28/20, the North Branch Nighthawks visited Quamba for a late afternoon ball game and left with a 10-5 win. Quamba jumped to an early lead by scoring 1 run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Logan Sjoberg. Unfortunately, 3 players were left on base when the bottom of the inning ended and all Quamba runners reached via walks. In the second inning Quamba again had a couple of base runners again reach via walks and both were left on base when the inning ended. North Branch tied the game 1-1 in the top of the 5th inning but Quamba took the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the 5th inning when Brandon Schmidt reached on a single, advanced to 2nd base on a wild pitch, and scored on a Jordan Nelson double. North Branch again tied the game 2-2 in the top of the 6th after the leadoff hitter doubled and eventually scored on a single. Neither team scored in the 7th, however, North Branch broke the game open in the 8th inning by scoring 8 runs to take a commanding 10-2 lead. Newcomer, Logan Peterson, led off the bottom of the 8th inning with his first hit as a Quamba Cub and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin McFerran. Quamba scored 2 more runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to make the final score North Branch 10 and Quamba 5.
Highlights for the Cubs were leadoff hitter, Jagger Steiner, reaching base safely 6 times in 6 plate appearances (2 singles, 3 BB's, and 1 HBP), newcomer Logan Peterson collecting 2 hits in his first game with Quamba, and Logan Sjoberg pitching 6 good innings. Justin Krie, Schmidt, Steiner, Nelson, and Peterson each collected 2 hits and Lucas Athey Jr. had one hit.
Athey Jr. took the loss. Athey Jr. pitched an efficient 7th inning but the wheels came off in the 8th when the leadoff hitter walked and the next 2 batters singled. Athey Jr. almost got out of the inning by striking out the next 2 batters but a hit batter, 2 singles, and a walk lead to his demise. Kevin McFerran finished out the 8th inning pitching to 3 batters. Zach Gottfredson pitched the 9th inning in his first pitching outing in some time and did well.
The next game for the Cubs will be on Monday, 7/6/20 at 7:30 pm when they host the Braham Snappers in Quamba in a Eastern Minny North Divisional matchup.
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Schmidt HR puts Cubs over the Hump, Oslin fans 12
The Quamba ball team notched their second win of the season on Saturday 6/27/20 by making a comeback vs. the Rum River Bandits in an exhibition game played in Quamba. The highlight of the game was a 2 run, 2 out home run by veteran, Brandon Schmidt, in the bottom of the 8th inning which put Quamba 3 outs away from their second win. Justin Krie pitched the 9th inning and earned a save. The game was scoreless after 2 innings, however, Quamba put 3 runs on the board in the 3rd inning on RBI doubles by Kevin McFerran, Caleb Koch, and an RBI single by Lucas Athey Jr.. Quamba added another run in the 5th inning on an RBI single by Jordan Nelson.
Chase Oslin started on the hill for Quamba and breezed along through 5 innings but ran into some trouble in the 6th when Rum River was able to put up 3 runs to cut the deficit to 1 run. Oslin struck out 12 batters in 6 innings before relief was called upon. Caleb Koch entered the game in the 7th inning and pitched the 8th inning as well in his first outing of the season. Koch pitched well, however, Rum River was able to put 2 more runs on the board in the 8th inning to take a 5-4 lead. In the bottom of the eighth inning, leadoff hitter, Jagger Steiner, reached on an error, stole 2nd base and scored on a Justin Krie RBI single to tie the game. Schmidt then hit the 2 run home run resulting in a 7-5 score after 8 innings. Rum River mounted a rally in the top of the 9th inning with a couple of singles but Krie was able to strike out 2 batters including a called 3rd strike on the last batter of the game.
Lucas Athey Jr., Koch, and Krie lead the way in the hitting department with each collecting 3 hits. Kevin McFerran added a couple of hits while Steiner, Nelson, and Schmidt also added one hit each with Schmidt's lone hit being the 2 Run HR.
Quamba's next game will be another home game vs. the North Branch Nighthawks at 5 pm on Sunday, 6/28/20. The game time had originally been scheduled for 4 pm but both teams agreed to move it back an hour later to avoid some of the heat.
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Cubs win opener over Hinckley, Falls to Mora
After a long wait to begin the 2020 baseball season, the Quamba ball club headed East to play a couple of exhibition games in Hinckley on Sunday, 6/21/20. In the first game, Quamba was able to collect 8 hits which helped to produce 6 runs. Kevin McFerran collected 3 hits, including 2 doubles, in the game while also pitching 4 scoreless innings in his first outing of the season. Logan Sjoberg and Caleb Koch also added a double each with Jagger Steiner, Brandon Schmidt, and Lucas Athey Jr. each getting their first hits of the season. Athey Jr. pitched the final 3 innings allowing 2 runs and striking out 4. Quamba's defense played a fairly clean game except for a couple of miscuses in the 5th inning.
In game 2 Quamba took on Mora and came out with a 5-2 loss. A bright spot was that Quamba was able to collect 9 hits in the 7 inning affair-all were singles and unfortuately they were scattered. Kevin McFerran again led the way in the hitting department with a 3-4 game. The 6 other singles were collected by Sjoberg, Justin Krie, Schmidt, Koch, Steiner, and Jordan Nelson. Logan Sjoberg started the game on the mound in his first appearance of the season and breezed along through 4 innings but ran into some trouble in the 5th inning resulting in 3 runs allowed over the 5 inning outing. Chase Oslin pitched the final two innings giving up 2 in the 7th. Sjoberg and Oslin both pitched fine for their first time out this season. Quamba did lead 1-0 after 4 innings but a couple of hit batters followed by a timely hit gave Mora a 3-1 lead after 5. Mora started their ace, Derek Graves while former Cub, Brett Johnson closed the game out with 3 solid innings. I think all of the players were happy to be out on the ball field again and there were plenty of fans in the seats at Brennan Field.
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6/23 LEAGUE UPDATE
The managers of the Eastern Minny League held a scheduling meeting on Tuesday, 6/23/20, to modify the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new schedule is as follows:
Saturday, 6/27/20-Rum River at Quamba at 4:00 PM
Sunday, 6/28/20-North Branch at Quamba at 4:00 PM
Monday, 7/6/20-Braham at Quamba at 7:30 PM
Friday, 7/10/20-Braham at Quamba at 7:30 PM
Sunday, 7/12/20-Quamba at Mora at 2:00 PM
Monday, 7/13/20-St. Francis at Quamba at 7:30 PM
Friday, 7/17/20-Mora at Quamba at 7:30 PM
Sunday, 7/19/20-Quamba at Hinckley at 2:00 PM
Friday, 7/24/20-Hinckley at Quamba at 7:30 PM
Sunday, 7/26/20-Chisago Lakes at Quamba at 7:30 PM
If you are looking for something to do, come out and enjoy a ball game. Unfortunately, the concessions for this season will not be the same due to COVID-19 pandemic. There will be no prepared food which means no sloppy nacho's, hot dogs, or sloppy joe's this season. Also, if you do come out to the field in Quamba, remember to bring a lawn chair and spread out. The good news is there is plenty of space to social distance. Seating is limited in the one set of bleachers that we have behind home plate but a lot of space to plant your lawn chairs. Many people sit up by the road or go down the right field line. If anyone would like to sit on the scoreboard in left field it's a beautiful view of the game but you will need to put the runs scored each half inning up. If you get to the ball park 30 minutes before game time and the scoreboard is open come to the concession stand, ask and it will be yours most likely.
Also, a big shout out to Doug Campbell for donating his time and resources to get rid of the nasty weeds in the outfield. Doug is also doing a beautiful job with mowing the ball park this season. Also a big shout out to all of the businesses who support Quamba Baseball: Tessneer Law Office, Spear and Swanson Law Office, Love the Journey Counseling, Mora Dental Center, Oslin Lumber, Hasser Garage Doors, Sportsmen's Cafe, Ace Hardware, SignCrafter's Outdoors, Brett Paige Construction, True Directions, Inc., Stenstrom's Collision, Mattson Electric, Kelsey Law Office, Fore Chiropractic, Berm Benders, Hohn's Auto Body and Collision, REMAX-Lonnie Ness, Roemhild Farm Supply, Best Rentals, Lisa Athey Child Care, Freddie's Restaurant, Lee's ProShop, Blue Star Graphics, Printeez, Caswell Cycle, Stag Bats, and American Family Insurance. Many improvements have been made to the ball park in Quamba over the past couple of years and they could not have occurred without the support of the local businesses. The support is benefitting the City of Quamba's baseball field, the Quamba Cubs, and youth baseball teams in the county.
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2018 RECAP
QUAMBA BASEBALL HAS SUCCESS-AND A FEW WINS TOO
The Quamba Cubs amateur baseball team wrapped up their season on Saturday, 8/4/18, with a 5-4 loss to Chisago Lakes in the Region tournament. Bryce Oslin pitched all 9 innings and gave up all 5 runs, however, 2 of the runs were unearned due to a couple of defensive miscues. Quamba dug themselves an early hole by allowing all 5 runs in the first 3 innings. After being stymied for 6 innings by the Chisago Lakes pitcher, Quamba mounted a rally late in the game by scoring 3 runs in the 7th inning and 1 run in the bottom of the 8th inning to make the score 5-4. Oslin continued to pitch well, however, the comeback attempt failed as the bats went silent in the bottom of the 9th inning. Kevin McFerran led the way in the hitting department as he collected 2 hits, including a double to deep left center field. The other 4 hits for Quamba in this game were collected by Jagger Steiner (a double), Caleb Koch, Jake Nygaard, and Lucas Athey Jr.
Prior to this season ending loss in the Region tournament, Quamba had earned the #8 seed after posting a 6-12 record in the Eastern Minny League. In Region play, Quamba had previously defeated the #9 seed Nowthen by the score of 8-3 but fell to the eventual Region Champion Mora Blue Devils in their second Region game by the score of 6-0. Quamba's final record for the 2018 season was 7 wins and 14 losses. Although Quamba had a losing record this season, there were a lot of positives that the team can build upon. Bryce Oslin was the anchor of the pitching staff as he finished the season with a 2.55 ERA. Kevin McFerran and Logan Parker-Sjoberg also had some very fine pitching performances. For the most part, Oslin, McFerran, and Parker-Sjoberg, along with pretty solid defense, helped this Quamba team be a competitive team this season. Quamba also has some other pitching prospects, however, there were not enough innings to get a lot of opportunities as Quamba only played a league schedule this season. Moving forward, it is hoped that some additional exhibition games will give other pitchers more opportunities to toe the rubber.
Defensively, there were a lot of bright spots. Kevn McFerran is an outstanding center fielder and if gold gloves were awarded he would be sure to get one. Jordan Nelson played a steady left field the whole season and right field was shared by a variety of players including Brett Johnson, Zach Gottfredson, Reece Oslin, and Jagger Steiner and they all appeared to be solid as well. Blake Oslin, Jake Nygaard, Caleb Koch, and Logan Parker-Sjoberg all played very well this season at their respective infield positions. Lucas Athey Jr. was the catcher and he did a fine job of handling the pitching staff and also threw out several would be base stealers.
The hitting department was the area of concern going into the season and this proved to be a correct assessment. We knew that we could count on a couple of experienced hitters like McFerran and Nygaard to put together good at bats and get their share of hits and they did. McFerran led the team in hitting with a .333 batting average. McFerran also led the team in hits, extra base hits, and hit our lone HR. Jordan Nelson (.306) and Logan Parker-Sjoberg (.286) also put together fine offensive seasons and helped our lineup as we were able to insert Nelson into the clean up position in the order and Sjoberg-Parker into the leadoff position. Jesse Anderson, who was utilized mostly as a DH, generally batted 5th in the order and finished with a respectable .241 batting average. Our younger and less experienced amateur baseball players/hitters got a taste of amateur pitching and were able to put together better at bats as the season progressed. It is hoped that the number of at bats our less experienced players received will help their growth as amateur baseball hitters and give us a deeper lineup in the future.
MOVING FORWARD: All in all, good pitching, good defense, and timely hitting can result in a competitive team. In the 3 blowout losses we had this season we did not have good pitching, good defense, or hitting. Our goal for the future will be to continue to improve in all areas. We have some legitimate amateur ball players and some prospects that possess excellent baseball sense and have the ability to become more legitimate amateur baseball players. We started out the season by experimenting with different offensive and defensive lineups as we had a lot of new players that had not played with each other in the past. The early results were a 1-6 record with the one win via forfeit. After the 1-6 start, we got a big 2-1 victory over a very good State Tournament bound Princeton team. During that particular game it seemed like the team started to come together. Kevin McFerran, one of our most experienced players, pitched a great game that night while we had a 15 year old in center field doing McFerran's normal job, a 16 year old SS who made a very intelligent play that saved a possible run from scoring, and a 16 year old catcher who threw out 2 would be base stealers which put a halt to Princeton's running game. Our veteran 2B also made a great defensive play that night to save a run. From that point on, our record was 5-9 with 2 of those losses vs. good opponents that went down to the wire. As long as the veterans and young players continue to maintain great attitudes and support one another we will continue to have good team chemistry which should result in even more improvement next season.
The biggest win of the season was getting a chance to be around several players who had great attitudes and exhibited a great work ethic both on and off the field. All players were made aware that improvements to the field in Quamba needed to occur prior to Opening Day and we had very few resources to make the necessary repairs. In order to create some revenue to make these necessary improvements to the pitcher's mound, home plate area, fences, and infield, the players helped sell advertising to local businesses and participated in a tee shirt fund drive. The banners that were sold were placed on the outfield wall which greatly improved the appearance of the outfield wall. The Winter season seemed to linger on so we needed to work a lot of hours in a short period of time to accomplish our tasks. Most of the players, young and old, spent several hours over about a 30 day period hauling loads of clay and dirt, digging holes, picking rocks, tamping dirt/clay, and clearing brush in order to give the field in Quamba a fresh look. Community members were also volunteering their time off from their jobs and family to help build a scoreboard in left field. All involved volunteers seemed to take a lot of pride in what they were doing. The end result was a much improved ball field that was utilized not only for the Quamba Cubs amateur baseball team but also for several youth baseball games and other community events.
There are still a lot of improvements that we would like to make such as improving the dugouts and replacing the outfield fence. With the continued support of local businesses and the continued efforts of the players and other members of the community, it is believed that the ball field in Quamba will continue to be a great venue for both adults and children to utilize. It is especially rewarding to know that all of that hard work made noticeable improvements. Compliments from opposing teams and parents of youth players from this area and elsewhere have been frequent. We currently have about 25 advertising signs on our outfield wall and there is room for about 25-30 more so if any businesses are looking for an advertising opportunity, please consider purchasing a sign for the outfield wall in Quamba. It is also hoped that we will be able to continue to utilize the field this Fall by attempting to host several Fall baseball league games.
The Quamba Amateur baseball team to the following local businesses for their support:
Oslin Lumber, Tessneer Law Office, Spear & Swanson Law Office, Love the Journey Counseling, Mora Dental Center, Hasser Garage Doors, Five Star Auto, Sportmen's Cafe, Whited Plumbing, ACE Hardware, SignCrafters Outdoors, Glen's Tire, SPIRE Credit Union, Brett Paige Construction, True Directions, Inc., Stenstrom Collision, Mattson Electric, Kelsey Law Office, Fore Chiropractic, BermBenders, Hohn's Auto Body, REMAX-Lonnie Ness, Roemhild Farm Supply, Best Rentals, Cassidy Complete Cabin Care, Lisa Athey's Child Care, Freddie's Restaurant, Almost Yours GunNPawn, Blue Star Graphics, Printeez
We would also like to thank the following for their efforts with improving the baseball field and helping out at the games:
Doug Campbell (spraying field for noxious weeds & dandelions), Jodi Brodal (music, announcing), Cathy Steiner (concessions, field, painting), Lisa Athey (concessions), Aubrey Athey (concessions), Anna Athey (concessions), Marie Koch (concessions), Mike Sjoberg (scoreboard), Cody Stamper (scoreboard), Justin Linder (scoreboard), Bruce Hancock (field maintenance), Stan Peterson (field maintenance), Mark Cannon (equipment), Curt Oslin (field, equipment, lumber, fence, painting consultant), Ryan Nelson (backhoe), Gary Oslin (field, equipment, lumber, fence, painting), Gordon Gullixson (welding, equipment), Kim Mork (4 wheeler), ACE Hardware (paint, supplies), Rob Lilienthal (scoreboard approval), and the City of Quamba council members for their ongoing support of baseball in Quamba.
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