Ely blows out Cook County

Ely's opening game in the Eighth District playoffs proved to be an easy one.

Post 248 exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second inning and cruised to a 14-1, five-inning victory over Cook County Wednesday afternoon in Cohasset.

The win moves Ely (18-8) into the winners' bracket final in the tournament, and a surprised date with number-four seed Marble. Marble rallied from a 6-0 deficit and stunned top-seeded Deer River 11-10 in Wednesday's other winners' bracket matchup.

Ely and Marble will meet at 3 p.m. Friday at Deer River.

Bunt singles by Sean Fisher and Cody Bialik helped set the table for Ely early on against Cook County, and the offense took care of the rest.

A two-run single by Jory Johnson capped the seven-run second, while Alex Koschak, Nick Mathew and Trevor Bernsdorf all had run-scoring hits in the frame.

Koschak's solo homer kickstarted a five-run third, and the rout was on.

Wes Snyder gained his sixth pitching win of the summer, allowing two hits in three innings of work. Koschak fired two scoreless frames in relief.

At the plate, Ely ripped out 17 hits, with Koschak, Fisher, Bernsdorf, Snyder, Mathews and Johnson all collecting two apiece. Johnson drove in four runs while Fisher scored three times.

Cook County later eliminated Brookston 12-7, setting the stage for Friday's action, all at Deer River.

Cook County meets Deer River at 12:30 p.m., followed by Ely and Marble at 3 p.m.. The winner of the Ely-Marble tilt moves into Saturday's finals while the loser must play at 5:30, against the Cook County-Deer River winner.