AURORA— It’s said all good things must come to an end, and that was the case here last Thursday for an exceptional Ely high school baseball season as the Wolves fell 3-2 to South Ridge in the Section 7A championship game.
The Wolves came into the final round facing long odds in the double elimination tournament, as the top-seeded Panthers remained undefeated heading into the championship. That meant Ely needed to win the first game and then defeat South Ridge a second time the same day to claim the section title.
They almost succeeded in game one. Ely junior pitcher Gunnar Hart held the usually formidable South Ridge bats mostly in check through five and two-thirds innings, allowing just three runs while scattering eight hits and fanning eight. “It was a gutsy performance,” said Ely Head Coach Frank Ivancich.
The Wolves took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as senior Mason Davis took advantage of a passed ball to score. Davis had led off the inning with a walk and then advanced on a single by senior Chase Sandberg, one of only four Ely hits in the game, followed by a bunt single from sophomore Drew Marolt to load the bases.
The Wolves threatened again in the fifth inning when sophomore Deegan Richards stretched a two-out single into the outfield into a two-bagger on a throwing error. He stole third moments later but South Ridge pitcher Christian Petaskey struck out Ely’s next batter to end the threat.
South Ridge tied the score in the third and added single runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-1 lead heading into the seventh. Ely had rallied so many times in recent games that it had almost come to be expected, and when South Ridge walked juniors Logan Loe and Joey Bianco to start the seventh, it seemed like history just might repeat itself. When freshman Caid Chittum ripped a ground out, it advanced Loe and Bianco to scoring position. Richards drove Loe in on the next at-bat with another fielder’s choice, while Bianco advanced to third. Then it all came down to junior Erron Anderson, but when his infield grounder was scooped up by the South Ridge third baseman, the routine out at first ended Ely’s season.
Despite the disappointment, the Wolves found plenty to like in their 19-8 season and their second appearance in the Section 7A finals in the past four years.
“Overall we had a tremendous season despite the late start,” said Ivancich. “Probably the most encouraging part of the season was being able to play a full schedule of 20 regular season games. That most certainly paid a huge dividend, preparing us to play many games in a short stretch of days in the playoff run.  Playing 11 games in the last 12 days of the regular season prepared us for the mental and physical grind needed to get through the playoffs. We played two games a day for three days in our playoff run.” 
Ivancich also credited the team’s strong bench. “Having 17 players contribute to our playoff run was an awesome advantage to have, whether a player pinch running, courtesy running, pinch hitting, or pitching an out and inning or whatever we needed our guys accepted whatever role they were asked to play.  A true team effort by these players had an awful lot to do with our successful year.”
Looking ahead to next season, Ivancich said the team will feel the effects of the loss of several seniors, including catcher Chase Sandberg, pitcher Harry Simons, pitcher/leftfielder Mason Davis, rightfielder Eddie Prijatel, DH/pinch hitter Jacob Towley, and pitcher/pinch runner Bryce Fairchild.  “They have experienced it all over the past four years,” said Ivancich. “A Section 7A runner-up in 2019, a lost 2020 year due to Covid, a disappointing 9-13 record and first game exit from the playoffs in 2021, to another Section 7A Runner-Up in 2022. These seniors are just simply a great group of young men who were truly team players who accepted their roles and encouraged our younger players.”