Cubs enjoy tournament success

The Monticello Cubs had so much fun reaching the championship game of the Holy Cross Semi-Pro Baseball Tournament that they set their sights on doing so again, this time in Peosta.

     The Cubs (9-17) won three games to reach the title contest at Holy Cross, losing to Cascade 15-9 Aug. 9 to finish second in the tournament.

     Then, they got back on the winning track the next day, winning the opener of the Peosta Tournament, a 4-1 decision over Holy Cross.

     Following the previous week’s win over Placid in the opening round at Holy Cross, the Cubs reeled off two more victories last week in the tournament.

     In the quarterfinals, the Cubs scored a 5-1 win over Holy Cross Aug. 5, as Tyler Felton pitched a three-hitter with four shutouts. The big inning for Monticello was the bottom of the fifth, when the Cubs broke a 1-1 tie with three runs, including a solo home run by Michael Reuter. Matt Holmes batted 2-for-3 in the game, and Andrew Mescher hit a double.

     “Tyler pitched his second complete game in three days and pitched very well for us,” Monticello player-manager Tanner Felton said. “Despite starting off slow, we managed to score some runs late. It felt really good to get out of the second round of a tournament.”

     On Aug. 7, the Cubs faced the Dubuque Packers in the semifinals of the Holy Cross tourney. Monticello took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, then scored an insurance run on a double by Michael Reuter and a triple by Tanner Felton.

     That proved critical, as Dubuque scored in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying run on third base with two out before Cubs pitcher A.J. Reuter got the last hitter to fly out to Zach Monk in leftfield.

     A.J. Reuter worked all seven innings, allowing five hits, striking out 10 and walking none. Michael Reuter, A.J. Reuter, Lucas Stutt, Ryan Manternach and Mescher each had two of the team’s 12 hits.

     “We had a lot of momentum coming into this game,” Tanner Felton said. “We had been hitting the ball very well the last couple games and playing very good defense.”

     That put the Cubs in the championship game Aug. 9 against Cascade – the first championship game appearance for Monticello since 2015. The teams traded leads, with the Reds taking an early 2-0 lead, Monticello coming back to lead 5-2, with a four-run fourth inning, and Cascade scoring four of its own to lead 6-5.

     The Cascade margin was 8-5 through five innings, and the Reds broke the game open with a seven-run sixth inning.

     Monticello did have 12 hits. Ryan Manternach had a solo home run among his two hits. Also getting two hits were Michael Reuter, Lucas Stutt and Matt Holmes. Adam Lloyd pitched the first 4 1/3 innings for the Cubs, and took the loss.

     “We had an awesome Holy Cross Tournament, and the guys deserved it,” Tanner Felton said. “We had a lot of guys come through in big situations.”

     Monticello’s Michael Reuter earned the Dawson Besler Hustle Award for the tournament.

     The Cubs didn’t have long to lament the loss, as they began play in the Peosta Tournament the next day, Aug. 10, and defeated Holy Cross for the second time in six days, this time by a 4-1 margin.

     Monticello scored three times in the fourth inning and once in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead, and pitcher Tyler Felton did the rest, pitching a four-hitter with seven strikeouts and two walks.

     “It was good to bounce back and get a big ‘W’ after having a long night in the championship game the night before,” Tanner Felton said. “We played very good defense, and look to keep our good play going in the Peosta Tournament.”

     The Cubs were scheduled to face Peosta in the quarterfinals Aug. 12.