Some timely hitting, solid pitching and one key ground ball got Ely's American Legion baseball team into the state semifinals.
Louie Gerzin's two-out single in the sixth gave Ely the lead, and winning pitcher Wes Snyder coaxed a double-play ball to escape a seventh-inning jam as Post 248 held on and beat Paynesville 2-1 in a Friday afternoon matchup at Sacred Heart.
The win, Ely's 28th of the year, was good for a berth in Saturday's Division II semifinals and a 7:30 p.m. date with Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, which beat host Sacred Heart in another quarterfinal.
After Paynesville got its only run of the game in the top of the sixth, Ely (28-7) responded with a two-out rally in the sixth. Singles by Riley Bernsdorf and Nick Mathews set the table, and Gerzin followed with a sharp single to center that brought Bernsdorf home with the go-ahead run.
But Ely still had to survive the seventh, and things looked perilous when two singles and a walk brought Nathan Meyer to the plate with one out.
Meyer already had three hits, but didn't get his fourth. Snyder cleanly fielded his ground ball, threw to catcher Greg Helget for the force at the plate and watched as Helget fired on to first to complete the twin-killing.
Snyder, who earned his seventh win of the summer, struck out eight while giving up five hits. He issued three free passes.
Ely struggled early on against losing pitcher Josh Bunjum but broke through in the fourth. Trevor Bernsdorf singled to start the frame and he eventually scored on a groundout by Mathews.
Bunjum gave up six hits and struck out five for the Sixth District champions.
In earlier quarterfinal action, Plato beat defending Division II champions Eden Valley-Watkins 5-1 in nine innings, and Stewartville blasted Luverne 10-1.
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