ELY — The Ely Timberwolves closed the door on the regular season on a strong note last week, capturing the Iron Range Conference championship and locking down the No. 2 seed in the Section 7A tournament while posting a 3-1 stretch over four games.
Ely closed out the regular season Friday with an 8-2 win over Two Harbors Agates, despite managing just three hits.
The Timberwolves took advantage of wild pitching, drawing 12 walks and getting hit by five pitches as they built an early 4-0 lead after two innings. Two hits by Stig Majerus and one by Drew Johnson accounted for Ely’s only hits of the game.
Jack Davies earned the win on the mound, scattering four hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out five and walking five.
A day earlier, Ely split an Iron Range Conference doubleheader with International Falls, winning the opener 7-0 before dropping the nightcap 10-9 in walk-off fashion.
In the first game, Owen Marolt dominated on the mound, tossing a two-hit shutout while striking out nine. Ivancich said Marolt faced only three batters over the minimum as Ely secured the IRC title.
The Timberwolves scored four runs in the first two innings behind hits from Tyde Brecke, Grant Chittum, Davies, and Johnson.
Evan Leeson and Chittum each drove in two runs for Ely.
The second game proved far more dramatic.
The Broncos scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out bad-hop single to edge the Wolves 10-9.
Gunner Skager, Johnson, and Parker Niskala each collected two hits and an RBI for Ely.
Niskala started on the mound, allowing six runs on five hits over two innings, while Kooper Dostert took the loss after giving up four runs on eight hits across four innings.
Earlier in the week, Ely opened the stretch with a 5-3 win over Cherry.
The Wolves carried a 5-0 lead into the sixth inning after RBI hits from Marolt in the first inning and Skager in the second. Marolt added a home run in the fifth, while Hunter Halbakken delivered an RBI single later in the inning.
The Tigers rallied with three runs in the sixth on four hits, chasing Halbakken from the mound after 5 2/3 innings. Halbakken allowed seven hits and three runs while striking out two and walking six.
Marolt came on in relief and threw a clean seventh inning to earn the save.
At the plate, Marolt led Ely with three hits, two runs scored, and two RBIs.
The Wolves had a record of 13-8 in the regular season.
“I really feel that our schedule has prepared us for a playoff run,” said Ely Head Coach Frank Ivancich. “Playing some very good Class A teams and Class AA teams has prepared us for tournament time.”