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Ely captures DQ Classic championship for third consecutive year
Ely’s American Legion baseball used its familiar formula of pitching and defense - and combined it with timely hitting - to secure its third DQ Grill and Chill Classic championship in as many years.
Post 248 clinched first place in the 36th annual home tournament Sunday at Veterans Memorial Field - scoring an impressive 9-1 victory over White Bear Lake.
Senior pitcher Brecken Sandberg may have had his biggest day yet in an Ely uniform, earning his third win in as many starts by tossing a three-hitter and helping his own cause at the plate by going three-for-three with two runs batted in.
Ely, which struggled at the plate for much of the weekend and was no-hit by Kenyon’s Will Van Epps in its only defeat, also erupted with a six-run third inning.
Drew Marolt’s two-run double started things, while Sandberg, Hunter Halbakken, Louie Panichi and Ben Leeson followed with run-scoring hits.
That outburst helped secure not only the tournament title, but Ely’s seventh win in eight tries this summer.
Earlier in the tournament, Panichi and Halbakken had strong outings on the mound in DQ victories over Sacred Heart/MACCRAY and Hermantown.
“We’ve had a good start,” said head coach Tom Coombe. “I think this group is showing that it can be a very solid team and anytime you can win this tournament, you have to be happy. It was a great weekend all around.”
Sandberg, who is 3-0 this summer and has allowed only two runs in 16 innings, has developed into an ace while Panichi and Halbakken have solidified the team’s starting rotation.
Panichi blanked Sacred Heart/ MACCRAY on three hits, and recorded 11 strikeouts, in the June 21 DQ Classic opener.
A two-run single by Erron Anderson, a college freshman who is age-eligible for another Legion season, provided all the offense Panichi would need.
Saturday night, Halbakken survived a third-inning scare when he allowed four runs on seven hits.
The righthander dominated the rest of the way and didn’t yield another hit, while Ely capitalized on numerous walks and errors to pull away for a 12-4 victory.
Elliot Levens finished things in the bottom of the sixth with a walk-off double, and the senior finished with two hits and three runs batted in.
Anderson got on base all four times he was up, going one-for-one with three runs scored. Shortstop Caid Chittum also singled in a run.
The lone blemish for Ely in the tournament came on Saturday afternoon as Kenyon, led by Van Epps, blanked the hosts.
Van Epps, who is bound for Minnesota State-Mankato, didn’t allow a hit in six and two-thirds innings, when he was pulled because of reaching the Legion 105-pitch count limit.
The burly righthander finished with 11 strikeouts, and escaped his only jam in the fourth when he got both Anderson and Levens to ground out after a pair of walks.
Marolt started and was the losing pitcher for Ely and Talen Jarshaw worked in relief. They combined to allow just five Kenyon hits.
Ely banged out 13 hits in Sunday’s win against White Bear Lake, with all nine starters collecting at least one.
In addition to Sandberg’s three-for- three day, Halbakken added two hits with two runs batted in and Levens was two-for-two with two runs scored.
• Ely and Rock Ridge went 3-1 in the tournament and Post 248 claimed first place based on the runs allowed tiebreaker. White Bear Lake was 3-2, followed by Sacred Heart/MACCRAY and International Falls at 2-2, Hermantown and Kenyon at 1-3, and Ely’s Junior Legion team at 0-1.
• Levens’ connected on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh as Ely rallied and stunned Proctor 3-2 in a June 19 clash at Veterans Memorial Field.
Panichi doubled and scored the tying run on a wild pitch in the seventh, and that set the stage for Levens’ hit. He drove in Chittum with the game-winner.
Five Ely pitchers combined to hold Proctor to four hits, with Levens, Jarshaw, Chittum, Halbakken and Marolt all getting work.
Marolt tossed a perfect seventh and gained the win.
