Narrow tourney losses for Cubs

     There were some strong performances for Monticello in a pair of semi-pro baseball tournament games last week, but unfortunately for the Cubs, neither resulted in a victory.

     Monticello played in the quarterfinals of the Peosta Tournament Aug. 13 in Peosta, and wound up on the short end of a 3-1 score.

     “This was a tough loss,” Monticello player-manager Tanner Felton said. “Ryan Manternach pitched very well for us, but we couldn’t get much run support to pull off a win. We had a couple chances to score more than one run but left runners in scoring position.”

     Ryan Manternach pitched six innings, allowed five hits and struck out six, but took the loss. He also delivered Monticello’s RBI, driving in Jake Thompson with the team’s only run, in the second inning.

     Tanner Felton went 2-for-3 with a double.

     On Saturday, Aug. 17, the Cubs faced Rickardsville in Placid in a game that doubled as a semifinal game in the Placid Tournament and as an Eastern Iowa Hawkeye League makeup game.

     Rickardsville pulled out a 3-2 victory in the nine-inning contest. Monticello was supposed to play in the third place game Sunday, but that was rained out and will be played Aug. 24 against host Placid, at 1 p.m.

     Against Rickardsville, the Cubs trailed 3-0 through seven innings. In the top of the eighth, Andrew Mescher reached base on a fielder’s choice and scored on an error, and Tanner Felton belted a solo homer. Monticello was held to those two runs, however, to come up one run short.

     Mescher pitched six strong innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10, but wound up with the loss. Kyle Sperfslage pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

     Monticello was held to three hits.

     “Andrew Mescher gave us a good start,” Tanner Felton said. “We just couldn’t get him any run support to work with.”

     Monticello finished league play with a  3-12 record, and heads into the game against Placid, the last one of the season, with a 9-19 mark.