NEXT GAME: ??????????
Final Season for the Rum River Bandits? Stay tuned. . .
The Rum River Bandits opened their inaugural season in 2007 in response to the number of guys in the area that loved baseball and wanted to continue their baseball careers after high school. Last Saturday’s game in Princeton may have been their last game. Coming through the loser’s bracket on a magical run, the Bandits loss to Chisago Lakes left them one game away from a trip to the state tournament. “These guys played their hearts out with some fabulous baseball, “exclaimed Rum River manager Tom Koplitz. “I guess you can see why some wanted us out last year when we were on a similar roll.” The Bandits were on a 6-0 run in the last couple weeks last season and won 6 of their last eight this year. Last season ended when the Bandits were kicked out of the playoffs for using an illegal player who was approved during the season by the same managers that voted to kick them out, an unforgiving ending to what may have been their best chance to get to the state tournament.
This year’s Bandits regular season record was very deceiving. “We had our full squad together for the first time all year in the region tournament. I knew that once we had them all together, we were at least the 3rd or 4th best team in the Eastern Minny.” The Bandits had players scattered all over Minnesota with guys coming to games from Faribault, Duluth, Monticello, St. Louis Park and Minneapolis. “After playing and managing town team baseball for 52 years, this year’s Bandits is my favorite team of them all. These guys were so fun to be around, great effort, great attitudes and good players who could play multiple positions - a manager’s dream!”
Two Bandits have been the foundation of the team since 2007, Mike Koplitz and Kevin Auth, both rarely missing a game over the past 17 seasons. “They have been the bedrock of the Bandits since we started.” Other players have 10 plus years on the team. “Town team baseball is a veteran’s game. As great an asset as youth can be, guys who have been through every situation and know how to react is special, and that really surfaced in the region tournament.”
With multiple players either retiring or thinking about hanging up the spikes, next year is up in the air. The 71 year old Koplitz, a 2017 Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, has decided to walk away, citing three grand children, a wife retiring next spring and ‘aches and pains from just carrying the equipment’. “It’s tough to leave a team like this.” Koplitz also cited the all too frequent injustices at the state level as very frustrating and unfair to so many players, teams and communities as a major disappointment. “Removing the opportunity for guys to just play the game they love and have fun is disheartening and inexcusable. Almost all disqualifications are due to clerical errors, not teams trying to take advantage of the rules, although noting there are teams that get away with it to bolster their team. As for next year, no one has stepped forward yet to take the reins. “If the Rum River Bandits are history, what a fantastic story it has been!”
These guys gave the Bandits a combined 82 years of great baseball - thanks guys! (And Mike played 3 years for the Cambridge Blues before the Bandits started in 2007).
Three games in one day is too much for the cinderella Rum River Bandits. "We ran out of gas against a very good Chisago club."
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Bandits amazing run continues with 3-1 win over Quamba!
Motl throws a 4-hit gem.
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Bandits win again - advance to final four in Region 1C with 10-2 thumping of North Branch. Plohasz is too much for the overconfident Hawks.
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Shawn Motl led the Bandits past Braham with a shutout win over the Snappers on Sunday. With the win, Rum River moves on to the last weekend of the Region 1C Tournament and will face No. Branch in an elimination game on Friday night.
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Bandits unleashed the hot bats Saturday in a win over Ramsey in Region 1C Tournament. 23 hits and 16 runs moves the Bandits into Sunday morning's round in the loser's bracket. Motl leads offense with 5 hits.
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Bandits lose tough one to North Branch in game one of the Region 1C Tournament. Excellent games by Plohasz, Auth and Koltes.
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The Bandits swept the Hornets to end the regular season. Veteran Nate Knudsen closed out a stellar career at Larson Field with a perfect game.
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Wednesday's game vs. Ham Lake has been canceled due to pending storms. A doubleheader will be played on Saturday at Larson Field in Cambridge starting at 11:00 AM.
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Costly errors put Bandits in a big hole after taking a 5-1 lead in front of a tremendous crowd in Hinckley Saturday night.
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Knudsen pitches well in complete game loss to Chisago.
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Ziebarth leads Bandits with arm and bat in 3-1 win over Braham ____________________
Rough 5th inning puts Bandits in a hole they couldn't get out of vs. Isanti
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Great effort by Bandits in 10-9 loss at Mora.
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Bandits lose to Redbirds on a hazy night in Isanti.
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Bandits lose to division rival Chisago Lakes 8-2. Looks like some of the player commitment is waning - not good.
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Nice win over the Nighthawks on Wednesday night at Larson in front of a very nice Bandit crowd. John Gaub plated 5 runs with two hits, one a line drive home run to left field. Cody Randall added three hits and two big RBIs. Shawn Motl threw another complete game, striking out 9 for the win.
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Bandits bats go silent - lose to Silverbacks 12 - 0.
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Quamba takes the Old Black Bat in a 2-1 Saturday. A two-out, 2-run homer was all the Cubs needed.
Bandits beat their old Metro Minny rivals, the Nowthen Knights in a 15-0 win Wednesday night. 14 hits, 5 walks and 4 hit batsmen made it a short 5 inning game. Shawn Motl threw another complete game, allowing 4 hits and striking out 5.
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Bandits take 3rd Place in Brennan Field Classic, beating the Minneapolis North Stars 4-2, losing to the Forest Lake Brewers 3-2 and beating the St. Paul Windy's 3-2. It was a great weekend of baseball at a great venue. Excellent pitching and defense were the highlight of the weekend, with Plohasz, Skoglund, Knudsen and Koplitz all throwing well. Plohasz and Koplitz both registered complete game wins. Ryan Garlick led the attack, reaching base 11 of 13 at bats.
Great moments are born from great opportunity!
Thank you for all the support from teams and fans across the state with our 'disqualification' last year- we really appreciate it!!!!
