MANKATO —
Derek Quame had planned to be in New Ulm on Wednesday night, playing town baseball for the Mankato Mets against the New Ulm Kaiserhoff.
Instead, he had been whisked away to Eau Claire, Wis., where that city’s Northwoods League team, the Express, was in need of some mid-summer relief pitching.
“After the (college) season, I was told there was a pretty good chance I might receive a call,” said Quame, who will be a junior at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. “I was a little surprised. But it came, and I went from there.”
The Eagle Lake native and Mankato East graduate arrived at Carson Park that day and was put on the mound for the final 11⁄3 innings of an 8-3 win over the Wisconsin Woodchucks.
The right-hander allowed one hit and struck out one.
“It was a fun experience, and we got the win, too,” Quame said.
Quame’s uncle lives in Eau Claire, and his grandmother happened to be in town to visit, so he had some fans in the stands. Giving him some more comfort, his Augustana teammate, starting pitcher Kye Winter, also plays for the Express.
Quame’s parents, Dan and Sue Quame, followed Derek’s outing on the Internet, watching live statistics.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking,” Dan Quame said. “He was going against a kid from Cal State Fullerton (J.D. Davis), and he struck him out.”
Fullerton is one of the top NCAA Division I programs; Quame pitches at Division II Augustana.
As a sophomore this spring, Quame made 21 appearances as a relief pitcher, the most in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. He finished with a 1-1 record with three saves, 31 strikeouts and a 2.81 ERA in 252⁄3 innings. On March 26, he was named NSIC Pitcher of the Week.
“He can get guys out in a relief role,” Augustana coach Tim Huber said. “He’ll definitely be a short relief guy. That’s his thing.”
Quame appeared in just two games as a freshman, following an outstanding high school career at East in which he was named Big Nine Conference most valuable player as a senior.
He came out of East as a talented hitter, but Augustana has turned him into a quality reliever. Huber said the coaching staff dropped him down to throw sidearm, and Quame has found success with it.
“I like it a lot,” he said. “It seems to work.”
Huber said he approached the Mankato MoonDogs about acquiring Quame. But Mankato and other Northwoods teams didn’t come calling, and Quame played for the Mets, helping them to an 11-3 start.
The Northwoods League season was more than half done when Eau Claire signed Quame.
“It’s a great experience for him,” Huber said. “He gets a chance to face some better hitting and some big-time guys — some draft picks and major D-I players. That certainly should help him.”
Quame is on a 10-day tryout contract with the Express. The team, which is in the South Division of the Northwoods League, does not play the MoonDogs, a North Division team.
If and when he’s done in Eau Claire, Quame said he could return to the Mets and try to help them make a state-tournament push.
“Obviously, there are good players in this league,” he said. “I think I can improve and maybe be a better pitcher mentally and physically.”
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Derek Quame, an Eagle Lake native, Mankato East graduate and pitcher for Augustana College, is now pitching in the Northwoods League for the Eau Claire (Wis.) Express. As a sophomore at Augustana (pictured), he made 21 relief appearances, the most in the Northern Sun.
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