AURORA— It was do-or-die for the Timberwolves as they headed into the semi-final round of the Section 7A baseball tournament, played here on Tuesday. Having lost the prior Thursday to Cherry, the Wolves had no second chances in the double elimination tournament, and they were going up against some of the toughest pitching in the section.
To move on to the finals, they needed to get past Chisholm and second-seeded Cherry in back-to-back contests— and that’s exactly the rabbit that the Wolves pulled from their hats, both times in extra innings and both by a 5-4 margin. They were now set to face top-seeded South Ridge on Thursday.
“What a great day for Ely baseball and these players,” said Ely Head Coach Frank Ivancich. “To go out and win two extra inning elimination games says a lot about the character of these players.”
It seemed enthusiasm may have given Ely the edge. Wolves fans appeared to dominate the stands for Tuesday’s games and they provided raucous support with each twist and turn. Ely players were hanging out of their dugout and cheering along with the fans, adding to the momentum.
The Wolves had expected to face Chisholm ace Jude Sundquist, but the Bluestreaks started his brother, Noah Sundquist, instead and the Wolves were able to capitalize, putting points on the board early. Mason Davis ripped a single and he advanced to third on sacrifice bunts from Chase Sandberg and Drew Marolt and later scored on a wild pitch.
Chisholm tied it in the third, but the Wolves added three more runs in the fourth inning to regain the lead. Sandberg and Marolt each notched RBI singles and Joey Bianco ripped an RBI double to aid Ely’s cause.
Chisholm added a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth and added two more in the seventh to knot the game at four apiece at the end of regulation.
Chisholm brought in Jude Sundquist to start the eighth, but Ely was ready to rumble and drew three straight hits, by Eddie Prijatel, Marolt, and Logan Loe to load the bases. Bianco then drew a walk to force in the go-ahead run.
While Chisholm threatened in the bottom of the inning, Loe, who had come on in relief, got out of the inning to claim the save.
That left the Wolves to face Cherry, who had handed them their sole loss of the tournament last Thursday. And unlike their contest with Chisholm, it was the Wolves who had to rally for the win.
It was a pitcher’s duel early as both starters kept the scoreboard quiet through five innings. Loe started for Ely and he left the game after five innings, having reached his pitch count. He had scattered five hits up to that point, allowing no runs.
Cherry pitcher Sam Serna kept the Wolves guessing early on, allowing just one hit through five innings on the mound.
In the sixth, Cherry’s Beau Berry ripped a two-run blast off Ely reliever Drew Marolt to give Cherry the momentary lead. But Ely came back in the bottom of the frame on consecutive hits by pinch hitter Jacob Towley and Bianco. Caid Chittum moved both runners into scoring position on a bunt. A groundout by Deegan Richards and a base hit by Erron Anderson brought both runners home to knot the game at two heading into the seventh. After a scoreless seventh, Cherry looked headed to an extra-innings victory after they put two more on the board in the top of the eighth. It was just the challenge that Ely needed. Ely’s Richards opened the bottom of the inning with a double to center and when Anderson reached on an infield error, it brought Richards home to close the gap to one run. A Sandberg hit and a walk by Preston Hines loaded the bases for Prijatel, whose infield grounder scored Anderson to tie the game. That’s when Loe brought home pinch runner Sam Leeson on a perfectly-executed squeeze bunt for a stunning come-from-behind walk-off win to send the Wolves to the finals.
It was a total team effort, noted Ivancich. “All 17 players contributed today,” he said. “We used five different pinch runners in our two games and used four pinch hitters in our two games, as well as five pitchers,” he said.
The Wolves will likely face their toughest test on Thursday as they face top-seeded South Ridge for the right to go to state. Catch the results of that game online at timberjay.com and in next week’s print edition.