ELY— A solid South Ridge baseball team handed Ely its first loss of the season here on Tuesday, 8-5.
Both teams took their time getting on the board. Ely threatened in the first and second innings, but South Ridge managed to work out of jams and hold the Wolves scoreless until the fifth inning. South Ridge started the run parade in the fifth, with three runs to take a 4-0 lead. Ely responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame, to cut the lead to 4-3, but the Panthers added four more runs, all of them unearned, in the sixth to take control.
Ely threatened a rally in the bottom of the seventh with two runs in on a Logan Loe RBI single and the bases loaded. But the Panthers, behind pitcher Wyatt Olson, managed to snuff the effort.
“It was a good game against a very good team,” said Ely Head Coach Frank Ivancich. “We just made too many mistakes, too many walks and untimely errors cost us a chance today. But it’s early in the season.”
Junior Drew Marolt went four-plus innings on the mound for Ely, giving up four runs on three hits while walking six and fanning three.
Ely junior Deegan Richards had a big day offensively plating two Ely runs. 
Christian Pretasky reached base all four times for South Ridge scoring two runs, walking three times and delivering a big two RBI single in the sixth to push the Panther lead to five runs.   
Despite the loss, Ivancich saw plenty to like. “I really liked our fight today as we easily could have just kept our heads down and folded.”
In opening day action last Thursday, Ely notched back-to-back wins against Deer River and Carlton.
Playing at Proctor, the Wolves rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a 5-2 Deer River lead as freshman Hunter Halbakken opened his high school baseball career with a game-winning base hit, notching a win from the mound at the same time. Halbakken drove in Drew Marolt with the hit to give Ely what proved to be the winning run. It was Halbakken’s second RBI of the game, as he drove in Marolt in the fifth inning as well.
“It was a good first day for us,” said Ivancich. “We did a good job for our first game. It was Deer River’s fifth game so they had a bit of an edge. We did a nice job of riding a little wave of adversity, especially after giving up three runs without a ball leaving the infield.”
Ely’s starting hurler, senior Logan Loe, pitched four innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out three.
Halbakken gave up two hits and struck out three in his time on the mound.
Junior Drew Marolt was the only other Ely player to notch two hits on the afternoon.
Playing a nightcap in Carlton, the Wolves routed the Bulldogs 28-0. Ely tallied 12 runs in the first inning on nine hits and never looked back.
Junior Deegan Richards ripped a three-run homer in the opening frame, while seniors Joey Bianco and Logan Loe combined for two hits apiece and four RBIs in the inning. Ely added six more runs in the second and ten runs in the third on a total of 18 hits in five innings of play.
Marolt picked up the win, working three innings, striking out nine Carlton batters, while notching four hits and scoring five times. Sophomore Caid Chittum pitched the final two innings, striking out five. Chittum and senior Erron Anderson added three hits apiece for Ely.