QUINCY — Earlier this month, the Quincy Jackrabbits completed their first season of summer baseball since before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Cami Kukes, after the Jacks moved to the Central Washington Athletic Conference, she noticed a void for summer baseball opportunities in the area.  

“I noticed that teams were playing all summer. So, I reached out to Ephrata's coach, David Tempel, because I knew they had a summer team, and just asked him what we needed to do,” Kukes said.  

With his help, Kukes organized a summer baseball team with coaches, uniforms and a roster of 17 players. They had seven players from the Jacks baseball team, one player from the Mavericks and welcomed incoming freshmen to play for them. According to head coach Buck Aguirre, it did not take much convincing for him to lead the summer baseball team.  

“Cami came up with the idea. That just opened my eyes and got me excited. She took the ball. Now it's time for me to catch it and go with her,” Aguirre said.  

Aguirre is a volunteer coach for the Jacks' high school teams and has been on and off since 1999.  

Kukes faced several logistical challenges given the timing. She said Tempel told her that she needed to find insurance, game balls, umpires and a league to play in. However, it was May, which meant that it was too late to join a league.  

Tempel put the word out to other coaches in the area to help Kukes schedule exhibition games, she said. According to her, a lot of coaches began reaching out and she also contacted local athletic directors to find more coaches to call. Before she knew it, the Jacks had a schedule to play.  

The next step was ordering enough uniforms for the players. According to Kukes, a community member assisted with buying uniforms for the team, which was one of many ways the community stepped in to help the program succeed.  

“I think it was nice for the boys to see that they had that support behind them, too. We had one coach who ended up getting really busy with farming, but who said, ‘Hey, I'll buy all the jerseys for the team.’ And bought 20 jerseys. I think that was exciting for the boys,” she said.  

According to Aguirre, he was ecstatic to see the community support the team and hopes to see more of it in the future.  

“The community is starting to get involved. That's what it's about, and I know we probably had more parents at our summer league games than we had at our high school games,” he said.  

From June 7 to July 7, the Jacks' summer baseball team played a series of doubleheaders. They would go 4-8 against the competition. They finished the season strong with a doubleheader sweep of the Leps summer 2025 team. In game one, they were victorious with a final score of 7-6. In game two, they won 6-5.  

Despite the outcome not being what players and coaches hope for, Aguirre and Kukes are confident that this program is the first step in the right direction. With their recent move to the CWAC, most teams like Selah and Othello have summer baseball teams that players utilize for development in the off-season. Kukes said having this in Quincy will be a game-changer.  

“We're going up against Selah, Othello and East Valley now, and those kids are playing on these travel summer teams all summer and in Quincy, we just haven't really had that available to our kids. I think it's going to be a game changer for baseball moving forward, giving them more time on the field,” she said.  

Aguirre shared similar sentiments about his players having opportunities like this in their hometowns. Some players like Kukes' son would travel to Wenatchee to play on their summer league teams since the option did not exist more locally.  

Having the opportunity to develop closer to home, Aguirre said, the potential of the high school program will continue to grow. There will be pre-existing knowledge of these players' skills by the time they reach the varsity team, he said.  

“They're locking in. So, by the time these freshmen are seniors, man, I'm excited. I'm excited about the future. We may struggle next year a little bit, but the struggle is going to be worth it,” Aguirre said.  

According to Aguirre, coaching the summer baseball team has been one of his favorites in his entire career as a coach.  

“This year was by far one of my best, even though we weren't winning or nothing, but the excitement of one kid, to see him succeed and see him get his first hit, that's it, that's the excitement... I’d like to thank Cami for starting it. We need people like her,” Aguirre said.  

    Jacks summer baseball pitcher, Jaxon Porter, throws a pitch during a game this past season. Porter had four stolen bases in their final game of the season against the Leps summer 2025 team.
  

    Jacks Rocko Reyes, left, and Jace Reyes, right, pose for a photo after a game this past season. Head coach Buck Aguirre said this new summer team will be beneficial for player development and improving talent at Quincy High School.
  

    Caleb Kukes, a Jacks summer baseball player, prepares for a ground ball in a game this past season. Kukes is a rising senior for the Jack varsity team.