Champions: Ely blasts Hibbing to win DQ crown

For the first time since 2004, the host team has come out on top at the DQ Grill and Chill Classic.

Ely clinched the tournament crown Sunday, erupting for eight runs in the bottom of the second inning and going on to a 12-2, five-inning rout of Hibbing at Veterans Memorial Field.

The win capped a perfect weekend for Post 248, which won all four of its games in the seven-team tournament, earned the first-place trophy and extended its unbeaten string to six games.

Ely got another strong pitching performance, this time from junior Alex Koschak, who escaped some early trouble and finished with a three-hitter and five strikeouts.

And Koschak got plenty of offensive support, and a sizeable cushion thanks to the eight-run second inning barrage that included eight Ely hits.

Two were by Nick Mathews, who doubled to start the rally and helped cap it off with a two-run double to center. Mathews finished the day three-for-three, with three runs scored and three runs batted in.  Aaron Donais singled in a run in the second and finished with two runs batted in for the winners, while leadoff man Sean Fisher scored twice and had two hits. Riley Bernsdorf added two hits.

Koschak, meanwhile, picked up his first win of the year. He stranded five Hibbing runners in the first two frames, then settled in and retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced.

Both Ely and Minnetonka went 4-0  in the tournament, but Ely claimed the title based on the first tiebreaker - runs allowed. Ely gave up only nine runs in four games.

In other action Sunday, Minnetonka blew out Proctor 16-4 in five innings and Sartell outslugged Esko 13-7.

Final tournament standings were: Ely 4-0; Minnetonka 4-0; Sartell 2-2; Esko 1-2; Hibbing 1-3; Proctor 1-3; Marble 0-3.

Saturday sweep: Legion goes two-for-two at DQ Classic

Strong pitching efforts by Nick Pecha and Wes Snyder gave Ely two more wins and a perfect 3-0 start in the DQ Grill and Chill Classic.

Pecha tossed a four-hitter with eight strikeouts as Ely beat Sartell 6-1 on Saturday afternoon. Later that night, Snyder gave up six hits in a 5-1 victory over Marble.

Ely downed Sartell for the first time since 2004, getting yet another dominant performance from Pecha and putting together a four-run rally in the third. Pecha, who improved to 3-0 and lowered his earned run average to 1.67, gave up a run in the third but was in control the rest of the way. The college freshman had six of his eight punchouts in the final three frames, striking out the side in the fifth.

A run-scoring single by Josh Ojala tied the game in the third, and Ely pulled ahead on Nick Mathews' two-run single down the left field line. Post 248 made the most of its six hits, including two apiece by Alex Koschak and Trevor Bernsdorf.

Koschak's two-run single in the fourth broke open the nightcap. He finished with three runs batted in. Leadoff man Sean Fisher had two hits for Ely, and Snyder took care of the rest.

The lefthander won his second straight decision, giving up an unearned run in the second and working his way out of trouble in the fifth with a pickoff  move. Ely's young infield, which included a sophomore and three eighth-graders had just one error and turned a double play.

Ely can earn at least a share of the tournament title with a victory over Hibbing on Sunday. That contest is set for 3:30 p.m.

Minnetonka, which beat Sartell 8-5 in eight innings and Esko 16-4 in five innings on Saturday, is also 3-0 in the tournament. Minnetonka takes on Proctor at 1 p.m. Sunday while Esko and Sartell square off in the first game at 10:30 a.m.

In other action Saturday, Hibbing rallied for seven runs in the seventh and beat Proctor 8-7, but later fell 17-1 to Esko in five innings. Proctor downed Marble 9-5.

Ely edges Proctor to start DQ Classic

Ely's American Legion baseball team used a little "small ball" to rally past Proctor Friday night in the opening round of the DQ Grill and Chill Classic.

Back-to-back squeeze bunts by eighth-graders Sean Jordan and Will Gustafson sparked a four-run fifth inning, and Post 248 held on to beat Proctor 6-5 at Veterans Memorial Field.

Josh Ojala got two hits, including a run-scoring single in the fifth, and Jory Johnson added a run-scoring double

Johnson also picked up his first career Legion win. The sophomore lefty scattered seven hits through five innings, before giving way to ace Nick Pecha in the sixth. Pecha fanned five in two innings, but gave up two runs - one unearned - in the seventh.

In other DQ Classic games on Friday, Minnetonka beat Marble 17-3 in five innings, and Sartell downed Hibbing 7-1.

23rd DQ Classic set to begin

It's time for one of northern Minnesota's premiere Legion baseball tournaments - Ely's DQ Grill and Chill Classic.

The 23rd annual event opens Friday at Veterans Memorial Field, with host Ely taking on Proctor under the lights at 8 p.m., in the fourth and final contest of the day.

In all, seven teams will play 14 games over the three-day tournament. Thunder Bay withdrew from the event late last week, scrapping plans for an eight-team tournament and forcing some changes to the schedule.

Ely (3-1) meets Proctor, Sartell, Marble and Hibbing during the event. Post 248 returns to the diamond after several days off, but will be missing several players this weekend for various reasons.  

Lefty Jory Johnson will start on the mound against Proctor, while ace Nick Pecha gets the call in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. tilt with Sartell. Alex Koschak and Wes Snyder will also start this weekend.

The DQ Grill and Chill Classic has evolved into one of the top Legion tournaments in the region, attracting a largely Division I field. Defending champion Sartell is part of the tournament for the 16th time in the last 17 years.

Minnetonka returns for a third straight year, while Division II foes Esko and Marble have both joined the tournament this season. Hibbing, which has taken part in the July Sir G's Midsummer Classic for several years, moved into the DQ event for 2010. Hibbing is coached by Ely Legion alumni Jay Wetzel.

Here is the tournament lineup:

Friday

12:30 - Esko vs. Marble

3:00 - Marble vs. Minnetonka

5:30 - Sartell vs Hibbing

8:00 - Ely vs. Proctor

Saturday

9:30 - Proctor vs. Hibbing

noon - Sartell vs. Minnetonka

2:30 - Ely vs. Sartell

5:00 -Minnetonka vs. Esko

7:30 - Ely vs. Marble

Saturday (at Soudan)

1:00 - Hibbing vs. Esko

3:30 - Marble vs. Proctor

Sunday

10:30 - Esko vs. Sartell

1:00 - Proctor vs. Minnetonka

3:30 - Ely vs. Hibbing

VFW now 9-0

Ely's VFW baseball team ran its season-long winning streak to nine games on Thursday, going on the road and sweeping Eveleth 13-0 and 7-5 in Border Area action.

It's the best start in years for Post 2717, which won the Border Area crown a year ago and returns most of its starting lineup.

Tuesday,  Nick Mathews and Trevor Bernsdorf combined on a one-hitter as Ely whipped visiting Virginia 11-0 in five innings. Mathews pitched two  perfect innings before leaving with a sore elbow, but Bernsdorf followed up and fanned eight in three innings of work.

A five-run barrage in the second inning sealed the win. Louie Gerzin stroked a two-run single during the frame and came all the way around to score on the same play, thanks to two Virginia errors.  Tom Bonk had a two-run double for the winner while Bernsdorf had two hits, including a triple.

Mathews, Will Gustafson and Riley Bernsdorf all had two hits.

Ely rallied to win the nightcap 4-3 as Trevor Bernsdorf stole home, on the back end of a double steal, to score the game-winning run in the fifth. He and Cody Bialik had run-scoring hits for Ely, and Riley Bernsdorf held Virginia to four hits.

Ely is off until Tuesday, when it visits Chisholm.

Land of the Loon: Ely wins consolation title

Two wins in three days gave Ely's American Legion baseball team the consolation championship at the Land of the Loon Tournament in Virginia.

Post 248 rode the pitching of Nick Pecha and Wes Snyder to back-to-back wins in the consolation round, after a 7-3 opening game loss to Hibbing on Friday. Pecha had his second consecutive dominating start, blanking Chisholm on one-hit with 12 strikeouts in a 12-0 win on Saturday.

Snyder gave up a first-inning run, then settled in and got plenty of offensive support in Sunday's 11-1, five-inning decision over Esko.  Ely erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the first, while Snyder finished with a three-hitter, eight strikeouts and his first career Legion win.

Trevor Bernsdorf went three-for-three, Sean Fisher had two hits including a two-run triple, and Riley Bernsdorf had a two-run single against Esko.

Nick Mathews had four runs batted in, three on a monster home run to left, in Saturday's win over Chisholm. Alex Koschak had a two-run double and Trevor Bernsdorf had two hits in that contest, while Pecha tossed the shutout. The college freshsman is now 2-0 on the mound with 25 strikeouts, in just 12 innings of work.

Ely struggled against Hibbing in the first round. Hibbing took advantage of 10 walks issued by Ely pitchers en route to the win.

Jory Johnson had a two-run single for  Post 248, which got all of its runs in the sixth inning.

Ely 8, Esko 3

In a rematch of last year's district finals, Ely gained some revenge by defeating Esko 8-3 on Monday night.

Nick Pecha dominated on the mound, tossing a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts, and Post 248 erupted for five runs in the top of the seventh to break a 3-all deadlock.

Brothers Drew and Will Gustafson helped ignite the rally. Drew started things with a single, and with two on and nobody out, eighth-grader Will's sacrifice bunt was misplayed, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Run-scoring hits by Josh Ojala, Nick Mathews and Greg Helget gave Pecha a healthy cushion.

Esko got both of its hits and all of its runs in the fifth, tying the game with the aid of two walks. Earlier, Wes Snyder tripled and scored, while Pecha, Alex Koschak and Jory Johnson drove in runs to put Ely on top 3-0.

Ely had seven hits, but nobody had more than one. Both Drew Gustafson and Mathews scored twice.

It was the season-opener for both teams. Ely is back in action at noon Friday, against Hibbing, in the Land of the Loon Tournament at Virginia.

Sunday game postponed, VFW tourney delayed

Sunday’s Legion season-opener against Aurora has been postponed, because of scheduling conflicts with the Aurora players.  Ely instead will open the season Monday at Esko, with Nick Pecha getting the start on the mound. No makeup date has been finalized for the Aurora game.

Meanwhile, the first day of the G Men VFW Classic has been rained out.

The tournament will get underway Saturday, weather permitting, with five games at Veterans Memorial Field.  Ely takes on International Falls at noon and Duluth Central at 7:30 p.m. Eveleth and Duluth East "B" are the other teams in the tourney, which runs through Sunday.

Practice rained out

Tuesday’s Ely Legion practice has been cancelled because of rain.

The first practice will instead be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, at Veterans Memorial Field.

Eighth District has Eight

Seven other teams will do battle with Post 248 this year, as Ely tries for its ninth state tournament berth since 1997.

The Eighth District Division II field includes one new team this summer - Brookston - but overall the division has two fewer teams than in 2009.

Gone are Carlton and Nashwauk-Keewatin, while Moose Lake has moved up to Division I competition. Ely will look to knock off defending district champion Esko, which edged out Post 248 for the title last summer. 

Deer River, one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the Section 7A high school tournament,  has nearly all of its roster back from last summer and may top the list of district contenders. Marble, which has picked up several players from Nashwauk-Keewatin, may also be strong.

The rest of the district includes Ely, Chisholm, Cook County and Aurora. Brookston, which includes players from AlBrook high school as well as neighboring Cotton, has returned to the district after a several-year absence.

Regular season play runs through mid-July and Ely will host the district playoffs, starting July 20. The district champion advances to the state tournament at Dilworth, located near Moorhead in western Minnesota.

Practice starts Tuesday

The first practice of the 2010 Ely Legion season takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Field.

The team will practice at least twice this week before Sunday's season opener, at home, against Aurora.

For players who have not yet registered, registration forms will be available at practice.

2010 Legion schedule announced

Ely's American Legion baseball season gets underway on Sunday, June 13, with a home game against Aurora. Game time is 6 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field. The game kicks off an approximately 25-game regular season schedule for Post 248, which finished 20-11 last year and reached the Eighth District Division II finals for the 12th time in 13 seasons.

Here is the schedule for 2010, subject to change and the likely addition of two games with Brookston, a new team in the district this year.

Sunday June 13: Aurora, 6 p.m.

Monday June 14: at Esko, 6 p.m.

Friday June 18: Hibbing (Virginia Land of Loon), noon

Saturday June 19: at Virginia Land of Loon, TBA

Sunday June 20: at Virginia Land of Loon, TBA

Tuesday June 22: Deer River, 7:30 p.m.

Friday June 25: DQ Classic, 8 p.m.

Saturday June 26: DQ Classic, 2:30 p.m.

Saturday June 26:  DQ Classic, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday June 27: DQ Classic, 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday June 29: at Chisholm, 6 p.m.

Wednesday June 30: at Aurora, 6 p.m.

Thursday July 1: Esko, 7 p.m.

Tuesday July 6: Cook County (2), 4 p.m.

Wednesday July 7: at Marble, 6 p.m.

Friday July 9: Sir G's Classic, 8 p.m.

Saturday July 10: Sir G's Classic, 2:30 p.m.

Saturday July 10: Sir G's Classic, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday July 11: Sir G's Classic, 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday July 14:  at Deer River, 6 p.m.

Thursday July 15: Moose Lake (2), 5 p.m.

Friday July 16:  Chisholm, 7 p.m.

Tuesday July 20: District 8 Playoffs, at Ely

Friday July 23: District 8 Playoffs, at Ely

Saturday July 24: District 8 Playoffs, at Ely

Sunday July 25: District 8 Playoffs, at Ely

Parent Meeting on Monday

The summer baseball season in Ely starts this Monday, June 7, with a registration and parent meeting at Veterans Memorial Field.

Registration forms can be turned in at this time, and game schedules will be available.

Also, parents may sign up for volunteer shifts in the concession stand and ticket booth for the upcoming summer season.

Reminder that registration fee is $100, plus a $150 volunteer deposit. The deposit is cashed only if a parent does not complete the required number of volunteer shifts.