Seven American Legion baseball teams from around the state, with families and fans in tow, poured into Ely last week for the Division II State Legion Baseball Tournament, and while New London-Spicer took home the championship, the big winner was Ely itself.
Few small towns in Minnesota can boast of baseball history like Ely can, with its voluminous record of appearances in Legion, VFW, and high school post-season tourneys and numerous championships. “Tourney Town USA” is well-accustomed to hosting championship events, including the 1980 American Legion World Series. This past weekend, locals once again rolled out the red carpet for their guests.
“The history here speaks for itself,” Ely Head Coach Tom Coombe said. “And we’re fortunate to continue that history with the tournaments we run, to have this state tournament here and to see the people coming from all corners of the state and enjoying themselves and having a great time. And better yet, saying that they’ll be back to Ely, whether it’s for another baseball tournament or a vacation – that’s pretty gratifying to hear.”
The field featured some of the best talent in the state, with most rosters featuring lineups that included players bound for college baseball programs next season and headlined by undefeated Montevideo. That winning streak came to an end in Saturday’s final when New London-Spicer pulled the upset with a thrilling 1-0 nailbiter to claim the Division II championship.
The Ely Post 248 team landed a spot in the tourney by virtue of being the host team for the event, and while they compiled a record of 1-2, they competed well against strong competition.
Big innings played a part in all three Ely games.
In Thursday’s opener against East Central Region champion Sibley East, Ely starter Louie Panichi gave up a grand slam home run to Evan Pautsch in the second inning as Ely went down 5-0.
Ely got on the board in the top of the fourth when Owen Marolt drew a bases-loaded walk, and Drew Johnson was hit by a pitch to force another run across the plate.
A similar scenario played out in the fifth, when Ely again loaded the bases and Marolt worked a full count for a walk that narrowed the gap to 5-3. However, Ely was unable to capitalize any further on the situation.
Ely went into the top of the seventh trailing 6-4. Evan Leeson got things rolling with a lead off double and came around to score to cut the margin to 6-5.
With the tying run in scoring position and the lead run at first base, Ben Leeson came to the plate with two outs. He scorched a grounder up the middle that looked like it might get through for a hit. But the Sibley East shortstop made the tough fielding play and stepped on second to end the Ely threat and send them to the consolation bracket on Saturday. Ely drew Southeast region champ La Crescent for Friday’s game and exploded for six runs in a big second-inning assault. Evan Leeson smacked an RBI single to get Ely on the board, but they did their most damage with two outs in the inning.
Starting pitcher Hunter Halbakken helped his own cause with a hard smash that the third baseman couldn’t handle, bringing home another run. With the based loaded, Ben Leeson connected on a rocket that cleared the bases for three more runs and a 5-0 lead. Caid Chittum hit an RBI single to cap the scoring, and Ely led 6-0 after two.
While Ely’s offense laid dormant for the next three innings, La Crescent mounted a comeback, with two runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth, with Marolt taking the mound in relief of Halbakken. La Crescent left the bases loaded but had momentum going into the bottom of the sixth, trailing 6-5.
Talen Jarshaw shifted the tide back in favor of Ely when he crushed a leadoff home run over the left field wall for a 7-5 advantage. That proved to be the game winner, as La Cresent rallied for one more run in the top of the seventh and threatened to take the lead with runners at the corners. But Marolt snagged a chopper back to the mound and trotted to first for the force out and the win that put Ely in Saturday’s consolation championship game.
Their opponent, Esko, was loaded with college-level talent, and the Eskomos opened with a devastating seven-run first inning, rocking Ely starter Jarshaw for three doubles and three singles before a fly out to deep center ended the frame.
A team geared more toward small ball and speed, it would be an uphill battle from there, though Ely played the Eskomos even the rest of the way, scoring three and giving up three more in the 10-3 loss.
“Esko is an awfully talented team,” Coombe said. “An older, more experienced team, and they swing the bats well. They just went out and got a bunch of hits that first inning. But after that we competed just fine, and we got it to 10-3 and had some guys on base, so if we got another hit or two there suddenly we’re back in the game.”
Coombe was proud of the effort his team showed throughout the tournament.
“It’s a group that had success during the high school season and now during the Legion season, so they’re used to competing and having some success,” he said. “They’ve got that mindset that we’re never really out of it.”
Coombe gave special thanks to all the volunteers who contributed their time and effort to the tournament.
“We’ve got a lot of people doing a lot of different things, and that’s what it takes to make it successful,” he said. “If something goes wrong in any of those areas, all of a sudden we don’t look like such a good host, but we’ve had tremendous support. We call it the Ely baseball family, and they’ve really stepped up all year long and for this tournament.”
Coombe also made special mention of the ground crew that scurried to return the infield to pristine conditions between each game.
“That’s not easy work to maintain a ballfield, and Frank Ivancich has been in charge of that all summer long and has made sure this field has been in very good shape,” Coombe said. “And then we had a bunch of guys step up to help out between games and before games. We’ve received lots of compliments about the field and it’s been a good atmosphere here at the ballpark, a state tournament where there’s a lot on the line. There’s just been just a buzz around this facility the last three or four days.”