FIELD TWP- It was the nightcap for both the North Woods and Ely softball teams as they took to the field here late Friday afternoon, with each having dropped games to South Ridge earlier in the day on the North Woods diamond.
The Wolves had just a tad bit more gas in the tank at the end of the day, as they edged the Grizzlies 4-3.
Unlike their come-from-behind win against the Grizzlies on May 1, the Wolves got on the board first in this one. Peyton Huntington drew a lead-off walk, then stole second. With the runner in scoring position, Clare Thomas slapped an RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
Huntington came through for the Wolves again in the third, reaching base on an error, stealing second, then taking third on a passed ball. Thomas brought her home on a fielder’s choice to pitcher Zoey Burckhardt for a 2-0 edge.
To say that Huntington had a big impact on the game would be an understatement. She came to the plate with the bases loaded and two out in the top of the fourth and drilled an infield hit that led to a Grizzlies error, bringing Julia Zgonc across the plate for a 3-0 lead.
Ely hurler Zoe MacKenzie had held North Woods scoreless through three, but the Grizzlies manufactured a run in the fourth. Addison Burckhardt beat out an infield hit for a single, stole second, and then took third when the attempted pick-off throw sailed into the outfield. Rory Bundy got a single up the middle for the RBI that cut the deficit to 3-1.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth, the Wolves were looking for some insurance, and they found it in the bat of Maija Mattson. Thomas hit a rocket that was too hot to handle for shortstop Addison Burckhardt, then moved to second on a passed ball. She advanced to third on a single to left by Ella Perish. That brought Mattson to the plate, and she connected on a blast that slipped through the center field fence, scoring Thomas.
North Woods got a rally going in the bottom of the inning. Zoey Burckhardt and Ella Kruse got one-out singles to put runners at the corners. Emarie Gibson hit a ball to MacKenzie who went to first for the out, allowing Burckhardt to score. Thiel then hit a single to center, scoring Kruse. Addison Burckhardt singled, and the runners advanced to second and third, putting the winning run in scoring position. But the rally fell short when Brynn Chosa grounded out to end the game with Ely holding on for the 4-3 win.
MacKenzie picked up the W for Ely, while Zoey Burckhardt took the loss for North Woods.
“Zoe pitched pretty well,” said Ely coach Cory Lassi following the game. “This was her second game today, so she’s pretty tired at this point, but she pitched well when we needed it. We made a few mistakes that made it a little closer than I wanted at the end, but we got the hits when we needed them. I think we could do a little better hitting, but we did what we needed to to win.”
For Grizzlies Head Coach Dee Ann Sandberg, this was a game of opportunities missed.
“Our girls have got to be able to hit more,” Sandberg said. “But we were down and we came back, and that’s a win for us. We’ve just got to be able to hit the ball more and run the bases.”