Neepawa Cubs looking forward to SCBL season

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Published on Friday, May 15, 2015

By Eoin Devereux

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The Neepawa Cubs of the Santa Clara Baseball League are hoping to make some very significant improvements this season both on the field and in the standings. The senior AA club finished the 2014 SCBL season near the bottom of the standings and fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Carberry Royals.

Cubs manager Scott Newton said the disappointing end to last year has motivated the team for this season.

“Yeah, we are looking forward to getting the season underway. The core of the team is very similar,” said Newton. “We’ll probably have a lot of familiar names back again. Drew and Devon Tibbett are back in the fold and we’re working on a few more commitments, so we should have a good balance in the lineup from top to bottom.”

Newton acknowledged that the priority for this season will be establishing more consistency out on the field.

“Last year, we had a great start to the season, but then hit a rough patch. I think the issue was that we were just not consistent out on the field from game to game. We had some struggles and just couldn’t get through it. This season, we need to focus on our strengths. We had a solid defensive core and good pitching in the top of the rotation, so we have a club that can compete with anyone on any given day,” said Newton.

This season, the Santa Clara Baseball League will feature seven clubs, as the Ebb and Flow Lakers return after a one year hiatus. Other teams around the circuit include the nine-time defending champion Minnedosa Mavericks, the Carberry Royals, Plumas Pirates, Portage Padres, and Austin Athletics. The first home game of the season for the Cubs has tentatively been scheduled for May. 20, against Minnedosa. The official schedule should be unveiled within the next few days.