ELY- The Timberwolves’ quest for a 7A sectional baseball title came up short on Thursday as No. 1 seed South Ridge crushed the underdog Timberwolves 13-1 in five innings to cash their ticket to the state tournament.
Things looked promising early for Ely as Panthers pitcher Ben Pretasky got off to a shaky start, issuing a leadoff walk to Drew Johnson. Doing what the Wolves did so well to get to the championship game, Ben Leeson laid down a bunt to move Johnson into scoring position at second. Caid Chittum rapped a grounder to first base that advanced Johnson to third, and the Wolves’ right fielder came in to score on a wild pitch by Pretrasky, giving Ely the 1-0 lead.
That lead wouldn’t last long, however. Ely hurler Jack Davies hit Panthers lead-off batter Gavin Willeck with his very first pitch, and a walk and a bunt loaded the bases. After a pop foul out, Austin Olson hit a high popper to shallow right field. Second baseman Owen Marolt and right fielder Johnson collided as they both tried to make a play, the ball glancing off Marolt’s glove and allowing a runner to score from third. A sacrifice fly and a single pushed two more runs across the plate and the Panthers led 3-1 after one inning.
After stranding a runner in the second, the Wolves’ best scoring threat came in the third, when Leeson drew a leadoff walk, Chittum got on board with a shot to the outfield, and Marolt walked to load the bases with no outs. That was the end for Pretasky, handing the ball over to Kingsley Archambault. The new South Ridge hurler fanned Evan Leeson, then fielded a chopper in front of the mound by Sean Merriman to get the second out at the plate. Then, he got Jace Huntbatch to pop out to first to escape the jam unscathed.
Davies and solid defense by the Wolves kept the Panthers off the board in the second and third, but Ely’s hopes came crashing down in the fourth. Ely Head Coach Frank Ivancich pulled Davies off the mound after he gave up a run on a leadoff triple, a single and a double, handing the ball to Evan Leeson. Six runs later, Leeson surrendered the ball to Merriman with one out and the bases loaded. By the time Merriman finally retired the side the Panthers had rocked the Wolves for ten runs and an insurmountable 13-1 lead.
The Wolves went down quietly in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.
Ivancich was disappointed the Wolves couldn’t turn baserunners into runs.
“We felt good about getting runners into scoring position, but didn’t feel so good about not being able to get a few runs in,” he said. “It would have been nice to put a three-spot up on the board that first inning and then you can absorb some of their punches. But when we only get one up there and then fail to get a few across in the next couple of innings, we’re not cashing in.”
Ivancich gave all the credit to the Panthers’ hitters for the win.
“You’ve just got to tip your hat to them – it’s not like we didn’t throw strikes. They just hit to places that we weren’t. We take pride in our defense and they just hit the ball to places that we just couldn’t get to. They just hit, hit, hit and we just couldn’t stop it.”
The loss in the championship game didn’t diminish Ivancich’s praise for a team that exceeded expectations this season.
“I would have said (at the start of the season) to get to the final four was our goal,” Ivancich said. “Going into the season, Cherry was ranked number one and South Ridge was in the top ten. To get to this final and to knock off Cherry twice with their talent over there was incredible. We did some great things and just had a fun run. It was enjoyable.”
The Wolves ended their season with a record of 17-8.