DEER RIVER— Timely bats and 14 walks proved the ticket to an easy 18-4 Timberwolves rout here over the Warriors on Tuesday. It was Ely freshman Naomi Archer’s varsity pitching debut and she showed real promise on the mound, allowing just seven hits and one walk, while fanning two Deer River batters, to notch the win and improve Ely’s record to 2-2 on the season.
The Wolves only tallied eight hits in the onslaught, but they used their hits well, regularly clearing the bases filled by the 14 walks issued by Deer River pitchers.
At the plate, Maija Mattson led the team with two hits and three RBIs, while walking twice and scoring three times. Zoe MacKenzie notched a three-run HR and scored once while Amelia Penke notched an RBI triple and scored three times thanks to four walks. Makenzi Huntington and Clare Thomas both had doubles.
Playing at Bovey on Monday, the Timberwolves took an early lead but couldn’t hold on as they lost 12-4 to the unbeaten Raiders.
After Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin took a 1-0 lead early, the Wolves put four on the board in the third to grab a 4-1 advantage. Clare Thomas, Amelia Penke, and Makenzi Huntington each knocked out singles in the frame to put points on the board.
The Raiders bounced back in the bottom of the fourth as they put four on the board off of home runs by MaKenna Sobtzak and Reagan Schoonmaker. The Raiders added seven more runs in the bottom of the sixth for their winning margin.
Zoe MacKenzie took the loss for Ely, giving up 12 runs, ten of them earned, on ten hits, while striking out four and issuing three walks.
Offensively, Huntington notched two RBIs on a third-inning single for the Wolves, while Penke went 2-4, notching one RBI.
The Wolves were set to host Chisholm on Thursday. They’ll be on the road next Monday and Tuesday with games against International Falls and Chisholm respectively.