Softball team moves on

They had an unanticipated scare or two, but the Ely Timberwolves found a way to win Monday and move in in the Section 7A high school softball playoffs.

After dominating Floodwood just two days earlier, Ely struggled with the Polar Bears in its 7A opener and needed a couple of late runs to pull out a 4-3 home victory.

The win was the Wolves’ fifth straight and 10th in 12 contests and sent t hem into the double-elimination phase of the 7A playoffs, which started Thursday after deadline at Grand Rapids.

Sixth-seeded Ely, now 115, faced number-three South Ridge and needed at least one win Thursday in order to move on to the next round, set for May 28 at Cloquet.

Ely entered the postseason with some momentum and on the heels of a 19-4 victory over Floodwood in Saturday’s regular season finale.

But Monday was a different story, in part because of the pitching of Polar Bear eighth-grader Aussie Arro.

She wasn’t in the circle for the regular season matchup, and proved to be an equalizer in the playoffs, keeping the Wolves at bay and hooking up in a pitching duel with Ely sophomore Zoe MacKenzie.

“She was pretty good,” Ely Head Coach Cory Lassi. “She threw hard and was only in eighth grade. In a few years she’s going to be legit. We talked with the girls that there is a reason why you play these games. You don’t just push ahead because you’re the higher seed. I thought the girls did a good job of focusing and being in the game. We would have been in trouble had we not done that.”

MacKenzie helped pitch the Wolves to the win.

After yielding a run in the top of the first, she kept the Polar Bears off the board until a couple of unearned tallies in the sixth.

MacKenzie finished with a five-hitter and eight strikeouts while giving up one earned run.

Some heads-up baserunning also proved pivotal for the Wolves.

Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, courtesy runner Julia Zgonc went from first to third on a bunt single by Makenzi Huntington.

Zgonc later scored on a sacrifice fly, while Huntington stole second and scored on a Floodwood error.

“Neither of those runs happen if Julia doesn’t make that heads up play,” said Lassi.

Catcher Peyton Huntington was two-for-three with a triple and a run scored, and Makenzi Huntington had two hits and scored twice for the winners.

The victory set up a rematch with South Ridge, which beat the Wolves handily in a regular season contest.

Lassi said he is anxious for a rematch.

“I think we can play with them despite what they did to us earlier,” said Lassi. “I feel like we have a very competitive team and I’m excited to see what we can do.”

The Wolves are in the same bracket as second-seeded Moose Lake-Willow River and number-seven North Woods. Ely had two games Thursday and would play one of those two teams in its second game.

• In Saturday’s regular season game with Floodwood, Ely scored 12 times in the bottom of the fourth to put the game away.

Senior Hannah Penke had a huge day at the plate, ripping three doubles and driving in six runs.

Peyton Huntington was the spark at the top of the order, going four-for-four with four runs scored.

Ella Perish scored three runs and Amelia Penke added two hits to back MacKenzie, who allowed four hits and fanned three.

• The Wolves also won 16-2 at Two Harbors on May 17.

Clare Thomas led the Ely hit parade, going five-for-five on the afternoon with three runs scored.

Amelia Penke was fourfor- four with three runs batted in, Hannah Penke scored three times and Peyton Huntington got three hits.