Ely explodes late, downs Deer River

Ely's bats were silent Wednesday for five innings, but the offense revved up in the sixth and the seventh, scoring seven times in an 8-4 district win at Deer River.

Alex Koschak's seventh-inning hit broke a four-all tie and sent Post 248 on its way to its second win over Deer River in four days. The four-run outburst in the seventh helped Ely rebound from a disastrous bottom of the sixth.

Four straight hits, including a two-run double by Wes Snyder gave Ely a 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth. But the first two Deer River batters reached in the bottom half, bringing ace Nick Pecha on in relief. A pair of Ely errors prolonged the inning, and Travis Kane tied the contest with a two-run single.

But Ely came right back. Greg Helget reached base on an error and Josh Ojala singled, setting the stage for Koschak's game-winning hit. Jory Johnson then added the key blow, a two-run double that made it 7-4.

Johnson finished with three hits and four runs batted in for the winners, while Snyder had two hits and three RBI.

Snyder went five strong innings, giving up no earned runs and only five hits. Pecha gained his seventh win of the year in relief, fanning three.