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After second-place substate finish, bulk of lineup returns for Post 248
Ely’s American Legion baseball team pulled a few surprises in 2023 and nearly grabbed the program’s first substate title in a decade.
But Post 248 won’t be able to sneak up on anyone this summer.
All but one starter returns for Ely, which opens the summer campaign Tuesday at Cook County and has a bevy of home dates this summer at Veterans Memorial Field.
A young Ely team went 17-7 in 2023, winning the DQ Classic in June and going on an extended postseason run in July, falling 6-3 to Proctor in the Northeast Substate title game.
Post 248 fell just short of a state tournament berth and returns a group that has high hopes for this summer.
“I don’t think we’ll surprise anyone like we did last year,” said Ely Head Coach Tom Coombe, who has guided the program since 1994. “We were a young team last summer that kept getting better and I think we have a nucleus that is very capable.” For Post 248, success will start on the pitching mound and Ely figures to have plenty of depth.
The pitching staff was the strength of an Ely High School team that took third in Section 7A and key hurlers Drew Marolt, Brecken Sandberg, Hunter Halbakken and Caid Chittum all are likely to log innings during the Legion season.
Add Louie Panichi, a lefty from North Woods was one of the Legion team’s top pitchers last summer, and Ely has enough pitching to absorb a busy summer schedule.
Elliot Levens, Owen Marolt and North Woods junior Talen Jarshaw will only add to the depth on the mound.
“Our pitching was what got us into the finals last year and we’ll have to rely on that to make another run this year,” said Coombe. “You need pitching to get through those weekend tournaments that we play and there’s no doubt we have some guys who can shut other teams down, as long as we play defense.”
Panichi, who will likely be in center field when not on the mound, hit .403 as a sophomore and has one of the top returning bats in the Ely lineup.
Post 248 also should get an offensive jolt from college freshman Erron Anderson, who is age eligible to return for another summer of Legion ball.
Anderson, a first baseman for the Vermilion Community College Ironhawks, hit .365 with 22 runs batted in last year.
Ely also returns one of the top all-around players in the substate in Chittum, who played in a Legion All-Star state showcase last August.
Chittum is Ely’s starting shortstop, a three-time all-conference player in high school, and comes off of a 2023 season in which he hit .414 with 18 runs batted in.
Senior Elliot Levens started at second base last year and hit .306, while starting outfielder Deegan Richards (.229) is back along with catcher Ben Leeson (.222).
Sam Leeson, a senior, is back in the outfield after a one-year hitatus while both Marolt (.274, 4-3, 2.33 ERA) and Sandberg (2-2, 3.00) can alternate between the mound and third base.
Halbakken picked up several wins on the mound for the high school team this spring, while Jarshaw, Owen Marolt and Drew Johnson seem likely to add even more depth to the lineup.
“Things have changed in a year,” said Coombe. “Last year it was a team learning on the fly and now it’s a group that has some experience and knows how to win.” That experience will be put to the text with a difficult schedule that includes two home tournaments - both the DQ Grill and Chill Classic in June and the 12-team Midsummer Classic in July.
Ely Legion Baseball 2024 Schedule
June 11: at Cook Cty., 6 pm June 12: Two Harbors, 7 pm June 13: Hibbing, 7 pm June 17: at Int. Falls, 6 pm
June 21: Sacred Heart (DQ Classic), 8 pm June 22: Kenyon (DQ Classic, 2:30 pm June 22: Miesville (DQ Classic), 7:30 pm June 23: Rock Ridge (DQ Classic), 4 pm June 25: Taconite, 7 pm June 27: Southern Trip, TBD June 28: at LeSueur, 5 pm June 29: Southern Trip, TBD
July 2: Cook County, 7 pm July 8: at Two Harbors, 6 pm July 9: at Hibbing, 7 pm
July 12: Midsummer Classic, 8 pm July 13: Midsummer Classic, TBA July 13: Midsummer Classic, TBA July 14: Midsummer Classic, TBA July 16: at Taconite, 6 pm July 20-21: Substate Playoffs July 23: Substate Playoffs July 26-27: Substate Playoffs
Home dates in bold
The postseason road also goes through Ely, which will host the 10-team Northeast Substate Playoffs in late-July. Ely will host the Division II State Tournament in 2025.
