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Few area softball players are swinging a hotter bat than Ely’s Ella Perish.
That continued Monday, when Perish hit not just one but two home runs as the Timberwolves scored a key 13-5 victory over Mt. Iron-Buhl.
Perish went four-for-four for the day and knocked in six runs overall in a game that may have secured a home playoff game for the surging Wolves.
Ely, which has won seven of nine contests since a 1-3 start, avenged an early-season loss to the Rangers and may have cemented itself among the top-eight teams in Section 7A.
The playoffs start Tuesday at home sites, and the Wolves are currently in the number-seven slot in the section and on track to host a first-round contest.
A win would put the Wolves into the double-elimination phase of the tournament, which continues later in the week at Grand Rapids.
The Wolves entered Monday’s game on the heels of a disappointing defeat three days earlier at North Woods and in need of a win.
A six-run first inning put the hosts firmly in command, with Perish lining a run-scoring double and Maija Mattson adding a two-run single during the rally.
Perish’s first home run, a towering blast that cleared the right field fence, was a two-run shot in the bottom of the second inning.
She came right back in the third and lifted another ball out of the park for a second two-run blast. A run-scoring single followed in the fifth for good measure.
Ely junior Clare Thomas provided a spark at the top of the Wolves’ order, going four-for-four with four runs scored.
Mattson went three-forfour, Grace Flynn added two hits and Peyton Huntington scored twice.
That was more than enough support for winning pitcher Zoe MacKenzie.
The sophomore was in command in the circle, scattering six hits while fanning five Rangers.
On May 10, a 7-5 Ely lead evaporated in the sixth as North Woods rallied for a 10-7 victory.
Huntington went threefor- four with three runs batted in for the Wolves and Thomas collected two hits. MacKenzie scored twice.
North Woods touched MacKenzie up for nine hits while the Ely pitcher also recorded seven strikeouts.
• The Wolves were at Two Harbors Friday and they close the regular season today with an 11 a.m. tilt against Floodwood.
• Ely had an easy time of it Wednesday, cruising past Littlefork-Big Falls 18-2 in five innings.
MacKenzie scattered five hits to get the pitching win and the contest was decided in the top of the third, when the Wolves sent 15 batters to the plate and scored 11 runs.
Thomas had both a tworun double and a two-run single in the game, and Amelia Penke scored three times and finished three-for-four. Rylee Larsen scored three runs for the Wolves.
