Sunday, June 30, 2013

Ely knocks off BOLD, wins three of four on southern swing

A victory over Minnesota's top-ranked Division II team was part of a productive southern trip, which included three wins in four games for Ely's American Legion baseball team.

Senior-to-be Louie Gerzin struck out 13 batters and allowed only two hits as Ely upset BOLD 3-2 Thursday night in Bird Island.  The win came just 10 days after BOLD captured the high school Class A state title, and the Mudhens were ranked first in the Division II state rankings.

While Ely fell 6-2 at Cannon Falls the following night, Ely rebounded Saturday with two wins at Jordan's Mini Met.  Will Gustafson tossed a complete-game four-hitter as Ely edged host Jordan 4-3, and a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth gave Post 248 a 9-6 victory over southern powerhouse Kenyon.

Bradley Roy drove in four runs, including two on a sixth-inning squeeze bunt, while Trevor Bernsdorf didn't give up an earned run while pitching a six-hitter with six strikeouts.

Nick Mathews, one of four college freshmen for Post 248, swung the hottest bat of the weekend and went nine-for-11 at the plate, with at least two hits in all four games. Trevor Bernsdorf had six hits during the southern swing as Ely, ranked eighth in Division II, improved to 10-6 overall.

The pitching performance of the weekend belonged to Gerzin, who struck out the side in three different innings and faced just three batters more than the minimum against BOLD.

Ely scraped together just enough offense, with Bobby Shusta lining a run-scoring hit and Mathews finishing with two hits and a run batted in.

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