REGIONAL - The Ely American Legion squad is heading back to the Division II Central Plains Regional for the second year in a row, but they needed a second chance in the State Tournament to get there.

Ely lost to Dilworth in the semifinals and found themselves in the third-place game. The third-place game became a play-in game for the championship the next day after Dilworth was disqualified from the tournament for conduct issues related to behavior at the hotel where they were staying.

Ely had advanced in the tournament after beating Paynesville in the opening round by a score of 2-1.

Wes Snyder was the winning pitcher and Louie Gerzin had a two-out RBI single in the sixth that gave Ely the lead.

The win advanced Ely to a matchup with Dilworth in the semifinals. Unfortunately, they let things get away from them late in the game as Dilworth tied the game in sixth and won it by a score of 4-3 in the seventh.

Ely had taken a 2-1 lead in the second when Snyder hit a two-run home run. They allowed Dilworth to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning but then retook the lead in the fourth off of a Sean Fisher RBI single.

Greg Helget took the loss, allowing five hits while striking out seven.

After Dilworth was disqualified the following day, Ely’s matchup with Stewartville became a chance to play in the championship.

Ely had 11 hits against Stewartville and scored two runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.

Trevor Bernsdorf was the winning pitcher.

Fisher finished the game with three RBIs, Jory Johnson had a pair of hits and Snyder came on in the seventh to earn the save.

Against Plato in the title game, Ely took a 2-1 lead in the third following hits by Fisher, Trevor Bernsdorf and Nick Mathews.

Plato tied it in the fourth but Ely rallied in the top of the seventh. Fisher had a one-out double, moved to third on a groundout and then scored the go-ahead run off of a Plato wild pitch.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ely came within one strike of a State Title. Plato’s number three hitter, Adam Prehn, hit a game-winning two-run home run with two outs and a full count.

Riley Bernsdorf took the heartbreaking loss.

The top two teams from each State tournament advance to regionals giving Ely their second berth in as many years.

They were set to take on Shadow Ridge, the champions from Nevada, at 11 a.m. on Thursday in Wahpeton, N.D. Ely is now 29-9 on the season.