ELY- The Ely Timberwolves played small ball to perfection on Tuesday in a four-run sixth inning against Cherry that propelled them to a 7-4 win and a berth in the 7A sectional tournament championship game.
It was do or die against the Tigers after a 7-2 loss earlier in the day to No. 1 South Ridge dropped the Wolves into the elimination bracket, and No. 2 Cherry was on the prowl for revenge after being upset by No. 3 Ely 4-3 in the third round.
The Tigers broke on top early with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first off of Ely starter Owen Marolt, taking advantage of a walk, a throwing error, and a single.
But the Wolves answered back in the top of the second. Sean Merriman led off and ripped a shot down the third base line, and Jace Huntbatch slipped another hit past first to put runners at the corners. Ely got on the board when Cherry catcher Mason Heitzman made an errant throw to third on a pick play, allowing Merriman to score. Huntbatch advanced to third on the play and came home on a liner to right by Drew Johnson to even the score 2-2.
The Wolves drew blood again in the top of the third when Caid Chittum slapped a hot shot to short and reached on a throwing error, ending up at second on the play. A ground-out by Marolt moved Chittum to third, and he came across the plate on a sacrifice fly by Evan Leeson.
Trailing 3-2, the Tigers struck back in the bottom half of the inning, with Isaiah Asuma and Noah Asuma crossing the plate for scores and a 4-3 advantage.
Both teams squandered opportunities in the fourth and fifth innings, and the Wolves still trailed as they came to bat in the top of the decisive sixth inning. Huntbatch got things started by slapping a single past the second baseman, then stole second. Tyde Brecke laid down a perfect bunt, with Huntbatch advancing to third. Jack Davies tapped another bunt and the Tigers had no play, with Huntbatch scoring for the 4-4 tie. The Tigers pulled Noah Asuma from the mound and replaced him with fireballer Noah Sundquist. Johnson was up next, squared to bunt, and Sundquist’s pitch got past the catcher and allowed the runners to advance to second and third. Then Johnson ripped a single to score Brecke. With runners at the corners, Leeson put down another bunt, scoring Davies from third for a 6-4 advantage. Chittum drew a walk to load the bases for Marolt, who struck out for the first out of the inning. Leeson came up to bat and resorted to the effective formula again, putting down a sacrifice bunt to score Johnson and give Ely a 7-4 lead.
The Tigers went three and out in the sixth, but got their leadoff batter on board in the seventh. Marolt caught an infield popper for the first out, then first baseman Johnson snagged a grounder and flipped to Leeson at second to erase the lead runner. Isaiah Asuma stepped to the plate and whacked a towering shot to deep center, but Merriman made the running catch to end the game and give the complete game win to Marolt.
The Wolves collected 11 hits in the game and got good production across the lineup. With just two strike-outs, Marolt benefitted from strong defensive play behind him, giving up only four hits.
Ely Head Coach Frank Ivancich praised the Wolves’ play after the game.
“We needed to execute and get some bunts down, and we did,” he said. “Tyde and Jack set the stage there with some excellent bunts, and then we knew we were just going to be squeezing and squeezing. We just knew that’s what we were going to keep on doing until they could get an out, and some things went our way.”
But the success with the small ball didn’t happen by luck.
“We’ve been working on this for a couple of days now,” Ivancich said. “Just putting the machine out and having each guy get up there and just bunt, bunt, bunt, bunt, bunt, and if finally kind of paid off for us.”
The win took some of the sting off of the earlier loss to the Panthers, which was a more closely contested game than the 7-2 final suggested, Ivancich said. South Ridge led just 3-2 going into the sixth on the strength of a two-run homer. Chittum and Leeson scored for the Wolves in that game.
Ely would have to win twice on Thursday to claim the sectional title in the double-elimination tourney. Results will be posted on the Timberjay website and Facebook page.