Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Koschak shuts down Brookston

Alex Koschak had his second effective start in as many outings as Ely picked up an Eighth District Division II win over Brookston on Tuesday night.

Koschak tossed a two-hitter and struck out eight in Post 248's 7-2 win at the AlBrook school field in Saginaw.

Despite occasional bouts with control - Koschak walked six - the senior righthander dominated against the Brookston hitters. He overcame three walks in the second inning and had his only difficulty in the fifth, when Brookston got its only two runs.

By then, Ely had the lead, thanks to a run-scoring hit by Wes Snyder in the third and Sean Fisher's two-run single in the fourth.

Post 248 iced it with a three-run sixth, with Trevor Bernsdorf lining a run-scoring hit. Ely also took advantage of two errors in the frame.

Jory Johnson had a big day at the plate, going two-for-two with a double and three runs scored. Both Trevor and Riley Bernsdorf had two hits, and Nick Mathews knocked in two runs.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Ely goes 2-2 in DQ Classic

After an opening night victory over Sartell and a pair of defeats on Saturday, Ely's American Legion baseball team rebounded Sunday with a 5-1 win over Hibbing, salvaging a 2-2 split in the 24th annual DQ Grill and Chill Classic.

Trevor Bernsdorf tossed a five-hitter, struck out seven and stranded five runners in the final two frames to earn the pitching victory, his first in an Ely uniform.

Sean Fisher helped kickstart the Ely offense with a pair of bunt singles and a double. He scored twice for Post 248 while teammates Nick Mathews and Greg Helget knocked in two runs apiece.

A Wes Snyder triple in the fifth inning was his second hit of the game and led to a squeeze bunt by Helget.

Aaron Donais also had two hits for Ely, which placed third among six teams in the tournament and improved to 6-3 overall.

In action on Saturday, Snyder was the hard-luck losing pitcher in Ely's 3-0 loss to tournament champion Minnetonka. The visitors from the Twin Cities scratched out two unearned runs in the fifth and another in the seventh against the Ely lefty, who allowed only five hits.

But Minnetonka's Neil Kos shut down the Ely hitters, firing a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. No Ely player advanced past second based.

Proctor scored three runs in the fourth and eight in the fifth, erasing a 6-5 lead and going on to a 16-9 win in Saturday's finale.

The loss spoiled a big day at the plate for Mathews, who went three-for-four and launched a third-inning grand slam, which put Ely ahead 6-5. Both Alex Koschak and Louie Gerzin had two hits.

Helget started and got the loss for Post 248, which used four pitchers.

Minnetonka, which downed Proctor 9-4 on Sunday, finished 4-0 and won the DQ Classic for the second time in three years. Deer River clinched second place with its 4-3 win over Sartell and won three of four games. Ely and Sartell both finished 2-2, Proctor was 1-3 and Hibbing was winless in four games.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Ely edges Sartell in DQ opener

Alex Koschak worked his way into - and out of  - trouble Friday night as Ely opened play in the DQ Grill and Chill Classic with a 4-2 win over Sartell.

The senior righthander only allowed three hits, but he walked seven and beaned two en route to his first win of  the summer. Sartell managed just one run in the first despite loading the bases with no out, and Koschak escpaed a bases-loaded one-out jam unscathed in the fifth.

With Ely up 4-1, Koschak gave up a run in the seventh and Sartell put runners at the corners with two outs.  But Koschak stepped up and ended the game with his 10th strikeout.

Ely jumped on losing pitcher Austin Guggenberger in the bottom of the first, scoring three times, all with two outs. Koschak's double to the gap plated Riley Bernsdorf, and both Nick Mathews and Greg Helget followed with run-scoring hits.

Post 248 got a valuable insurance run in the sixth, on back-to-back two-out hits by Koschak and Mathews.

In other DQ Classic action, Deer River downed Hibbing 18-4 and Proctor 7-2, and Minnetonka blew out Hibbing 16-2.

Action continues with five games on Saturday, with Ely taking on Minnetonka at 2:30 p.m. and Proctor at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

24th DQ Classic starts Friday

Quality may top quantity at this year's DQ Grill and Chill Classic. The tournament, now in its 24th year, has one fewer team than it did last year but the lineup may have more depth than ever.

Defending champion and host Ely, off to a 4-1 start this year, will be joined by Division I powers Sartell and Minnetonka, Iron Range rival Hibbing and two teams that made it to the state tournament during the high school season - Proctor and Deer River.

Action starts at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Veterans Memorial Field and four games are on tap. The tournament continues with five games on Saturday and three more on Sunday - all in Ely.

Here's the tournament lineup:
Friday
12:30 - Deer River vs. Hibbing
3:00 - Proctor vs. Deer River
5:30 - Hibbing vs. Minnetonka
8:00 - Ely vs. Sartell

Saturday
9:30 - Deer River vs. Minnetonka
noon - Sartell vs. Proctor
2:30 - Ely vs. Minnetonka
5:00 - Hibbing vs. Sartell
7:30 - Ely vs. Proctor

Sunday
10:30 - Deer River vs. Sartell
1:00 - Proctor vs. Minnetonka
3:30 - Ely vs. Hibbing

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Tuesday's game postponed

Early-morning rain and the prospect for more across the Iron Range has washed out tonight's Legion baseball game between Ely and Chisholm.

The game will be made up Sunday July 17, in Chisholm. The time will be determined at a later date.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Snyder lifts Ely to consolation crown

Wes Snyder broke out of a mini-batting slump in a big way on Sunday, smashing a two-run triple and a grand slam as Ely blasted West Duluth 14-3 in five innings and claimed its second straight consolation championship at Virginia's Land of the Loon Tournament.

Snyder's mammoth grand slam to centerfield came in the top of the fifth and allowed Post 248, now 4-1, to end the game early by way of the 10-run rule. The lefty finished with three hits and six runs batted in for the winners.

Snyder also picked up his second pitching win of the year, working the first four frames and holding the Cubs (1-2) to three hits. Trevor Bernsdorf pitched a perfect fifth inning.

It was Bernsdorf who got Ely off to a solid start, launching a solo home run to lead off the game. That set the stage for a 13-hit Ely barrage.

Trailing 2-1, Ely erupted for seven runs in the top of the second. Alex Koschak's run-scoring hit put Post 248 in front to stay, and Snyder followed with a two-run triple. Three unearned runs scored when a West Duluth fielder dropped a fly ball off the bat of Bernsdorf.

Koschak, Sean Fisher and Nick Mathews all had two hits for Ely, while Riley Bernsdorf went two-for-two, with two runs scored and a sacrifice fly.

Ely is off until Tuesday, when it goes to Chisholm for an Eighth District Division II league contest.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Ely to play for consolation title at Land of the Loon

Some defensive wizardry and a stellar pitching performance by Greg Helget has put Ely's American Legion baseball team in the consolation title game at Virginia's Land of the Loon Tournament.

Helget blanked Marble 1-0 in Saturday's consolation round, helping Post 248 bounce back after an opening round, 7-0 defeat to Duluth Central.

Ely, now 3-1, will meet West Duluth at 9:30 a.m. Sunday in the consolation final.

It took both strong pitching and some defensive gems for Ely to get past Marble for the third time this week. Helget notched his first career Legion shutout and walked only one batter while going the distance.

But he also needed some help from his defense. With two runners aboard in the sixth, Nick Mathews snared a line drive off the bat of Marble's Jordan Peratalo, saving two runs. The next inning, Sean Fisher ran down Erikur Arnason's fly ball in the left-center gap, ending a Marble rally with a diving catch.

Ely got the game's only run in the seventh. Nick Mathews reached base on an infield single, went to second on a throwing error and third on a wild pitch. He scored on Jory Johnson's one-out sacrifice fly.

Ely had only three hits against losing pitcher Jared Becicka. Helget fanned five while going the distance and recording his second win of the summer.

In action on Friday, Duluth Central broke open a scoreless game with five runs in the top of the fifth. All but one was unearned in the inning against losing pitcher Alex Koschak.

Central's Garrett Hanson dominated on the mound. He gave up a hit to Trevor Bernsdorf in the first, and it would prove to be Ely's last. The hard-throwing righthander struck out 10 and walked just three. In one stretch, Hanson retired 15 of 16 Ely batters.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

34 runs, 28 hits and two wins

A 13-run barrage in the bottom of the fourth helped Ely's American Legion team overcome a poor start, and Post 248 went on to sweep Wednesday night's season-opening doubleheader with Marble.

Post 248 fell behind 11-3 in the first game, but responded with 18 unanswered runs to win 21-11 in six innings. Ely jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the nightcap and cruised to a 13-7 victory.

The story of the night was the Ely offense, which revved up with the 13-run, fourth-inning outburst that included a pair of extra-base hits by Nick Mathews - a two-run double and a two-run home run.

Riley Bernsdorf, who went three-for-four and scored four times, ripped a two-run double to left that gave Ely the lead for good at 13-11. In all, Ely sent 16 batters to the plate in the fourth.

Wes Snyder scored four times, drove in three runs, added a pair of hits and got the pitching win for Ely. He relieved starter Trevor Bernsdorf in the second and worked four and two-thirds innings, yielding five hits and two earned runs with five strikeouts.

Mathews had three hits en route to a five-for-nine night, with seven runs batted in. He had run-scoring hits in both the first and second innings of the nightcap, when Ely scored four times in the first and five in the second.

Leadoff man Trevor Bernsdorf reached base in all five of his plate apperances, scoring twice and getting two hits. Alex Koschak knocked in two runs, Sean Fisher had two hits while Tom Bonk went three-for-four.

The offense provided plenty of run support for winning pitcher Greg Helget, who worked the first four innings and struck out four. Mathews went the final three frames, giving up six hits and notching four strikeouts.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Land of Loon Schedule Set

Ely takes on Duluth Central at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the Land of the Loon Tournament, at Virginia's Stock Field.

Post 248 won the consolation title at the eight-team event a year ago, and the matchup with the Central Angels is one of four first-round games on Friday.

In other games, Hibbing clashes with Marble at noon, West Duluth meets Minneapolis Post #1 at 5 pm, and host Virginia tangles with Chisholm at 7:30 pm.

Action continues Saturday with consolation semifinals (9:30 am and noon) and the seventh-place game (2:30 p.m.), and the championship semifinals are part of Saturday's evening (5 and 7:30 p.m.) session.

The title game is set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, with the consolation (9:30) and third-place (noon) games kicking off the day.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Season opener on Wednesday

Ely's Legion baseball team makes its 2011 debut Wednesday with a home doubleheader against Marble.

The Eighth District Division II twinbills starts at 5:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field. It was originally scheduled for a single-game but later switched to a doubleheader.

Trevor Bernsdorf gets the opening day call on the mound for Post 248, which is assured of its 10th Division II state tournament berth in 15 seasons. The state tournament is set for Ely from July 28-30.

The bulk of last year's starting lineup also returns for Ely, which went 22-7 last season and amassed a 22-5 record this spring en route to a second-place finish in Section 7A.

• In VFW action over the weekend, Ely won four of five games at its own G Men Ely VFW Classic.

The only blemish was a 7-0 loss to International Falls on Saturday, but Post 2717 rebounded with a 6-2 win over the same team on Sunday as Soudan native Bradley Roy tossed a complete-game five-hitter and was helped by a defense that turned two double plays.

Trevor Bernsdorf's two-run double in the fifth broke a two-all deadlock. Bernsdorf also had two home runs Saturday night, both two-run shots, in a 12-2, six-inning win over Esko. Will Gustafson was the winning pitcher.

Bernsdorf struck out 12 and fired a two-hitter in Ely's 5-0 Friday night win over Ordean B. Bobby Shusta had a two-run triple for the winners. Ely also beat Esko 12-5 Friday as Louie Gerzin struck out nine and went three-for-four at the plate. Sean Jordan had three hits and three runs batted in, while Max Gantt and Gustafson both had two hits.

The VFW team is at Silver Bay Thursday.

Monday, June 6, 2011

2011 Ely VFW Baseball Schedule

Ely's VFW baseball schedule has been released. The 2011 season gets underway this weekend with the annual G Men VFW Classic. Because of a team dropping out, host Ely will play five times in three days starting with a pair of games Friday night against Ordean B (5:30 p.m.) and Esko (8 p.m.)

The entire schedule is posted below, but it is subject to change and perhaps a few additional games.

2011 Ely VFW Baseball Schedule
as of June 6, 2011

Date Opponent Time
Friday June 10 Ordean (Ely Classic) 5:30 p.m.
Friday June 10 Esko (Ely Classic) 8 p.m.
Saturday June 11 Int Falls (Ely Classic) 2:30 p.m.
Saturday June 11 Esko (Ely Classic) 7:30 p.m.
Sunday June 12 Int. Falls (Ely Classic) 1 p.m.

Thursday June 16 at Silver Bay (2) TBA
Tuesday June 21 at Aurora (2) TBA
Tuesday June 28 at Virginia (2) TBA
Wednesday June 29 Cook County (2) 4 p.m.
Thursday July 7 Silver Bay (2) TBA
Tuesday July 12 Aurora (2) 6 p.m.
Wednesday July 13 Hibbing (2) 3 p.m.
Monday July 18 Virginia (2) 6 p.m.

Saturday July 23 Border Area Playoffs - Virginia
Sunday July 24 Border Area Playoffs - Virginia
Monday July 25 Border Area Playoffs - Virginia

Saturday July 30 District Eight Playoffs - Grand Rapids
Sunday July 31 District Eight Playoffs - Grand Rapids
Monday August 1 District Eight Playoffs- Grand Rapids