REGIONAL- The Ely Timberwolves softball team is off to a 2-2 start to the season, all on the road, with wins over Hayfield and Blooming Prairie and losses to Kenyon-Wanamingo and Mt. Iron-Buhl.
Kenyon-Wanamingo
The Knights broke things open in the season-opener for Ely on Friday with a big third inning as the Wolves fell 10-0 in five innings.
Kenyon-Wanamingo got on the board in the second, but the game turned in the third as they strung together hits and took advantage of Ely errors to push across eight runs and build a 9-0 lead.
Ely had an early opportunity in the first, putting runners in scoring position after a double by Peyton Huntington and an error, but couldn’t convert. The Wolves were limited to a pair of walks the rest of the way.
The Knights added a run in the fourth to account for the final margin.
Huntington had Ely’s only hit, a double. Zoe MacKenzie took the loss in the circle, with Naomi Archer working a scoreless inning in relief.
Hayfield
The Timberwolves bounced back Saturday with a solid 13-1 win over Hayfield.
Ely broke through in the second inning, taking advantage of a Hayfield error to get things started. Amelia Penke reached on the miscue and moved into scoring position before Julia Zgonc delivered a line-drive single to bring her home for a 1-0 lead. The Wolves added another run later in the inning when Lindi Zemke came home on a throwing error, extending the advantage to 2-0.
The Timberwolves threatened again in the third when Makenzi Huntington reached after being hit by a pitch and moved to third, but Hayfield worked out of the inning without further damage.
Ely added to its lead in the fourth. Zemke ripped a triple to right and came home on a groundout by Grace Flynn to make the score 3-0.
Meanwhile, Ely pitcher Zoe MacKenzie was in control in the circle. MacKenzie scattered four hits over six innings, striking out five while working around five walks to keep Hayfield off the board.
The Wolves broke the game open in the sixth. Zgonc led off with a double and Peyton Huntington and M. Huntington followed with singles to load the bases. MacKenzie delivered the big hit, lining a single to left that scored two runs. Ely continued to apply pressure as a pair of Hayfield errors allowed three more runs to cross the plate, stretching the lead to 8-0.
Ely wasn’t finished. In the seventh, the Timberwolves strung together more offense. Flynn drew a walk and moved into scoring position before Zgonc added another hit to put runners on. P. Huntington followed with a single to bring home two runs, and MacKenzie added another RBI knock later in the inning. Penke capped the rally with a two-run double to push the lead to 13-0.
Hayfield broke up the shutout in the bottom of the seventh, but Ely closed it out from there.
Zgonc led the Wolves at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored. MacKenzie and Zemke each added two hits, while Penke drove in two runs and drew a pair of walks. P. Huntington finished with two hits and two RBIs as Ely piled up 12 hits in the win.
Blooming Prairie
Ely picked up its second win of the day Saturday with a 13-2 victory over Blooming Prairie.
Ely came out swinging, plating three runs in the first inning to take control early. Blooming Prairie answered with single runs in the first and second, but the Wolves continued to add on. Ely scored once in the second and once in the fourth before breaking the game open with four runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth.
The Wolves finished with nine hits, drew eight walks, and stole four bases in the win.
Peyton Huntington led Ely at the plate, scoring five runs while collecting two hits. Makenzi Huntington and Lindi Zemke each added a pair of hits, while Julia Zgonc and Grace Flynn also contributed hits. Lucy Oelke had Ely’s only extra-base hit, a double.
Mt. Iron-Buhl
The tension was thick at the home of the Rangers as Ely held on to a slim lead early before Mt. Iron-Buhl came back for the 4-3 win on Tuesday.
Ely struck first, getting an RBI single from Zoe MacKenzie in the opening inning. They extended the lead in the fifth with a MacKenzie double that plated M. Huntington for a 2-0 edge. The Rangers answered in the bottom of the fifth, stringing together hits and taking advantage of Ely miscues to score three runs, highlighted by a two-run single that put Mt. Iron-Buhl in front 3-2.
The Wolves responded in the sixth. Lucy Oelke singled and later scored on a single by Peyton Huntington to tie the game at 3-3.
Mt. Iron-Buhl answered in the bottom half, using a walk and a wild pitch to push across the go-ahead run.
Ely was unable to mount a response in the seventh, going in order to end the game.