Ely finally caught a break Thursday in Wahpeton, N.D.
After losing two regional games last summer in heartbreaking fashion, and following a pair of walkoff defeats last weekend in the state tournament, Post 248 turned the tables in its Division II Central Plains opener, scoring in the bottom of the seventh to beat Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) 1-0.
Trevor Bernsdorf scored all the way from second base when Wes Snyder's two-out ground ball was misplayed by the Shadow Ridge second baseman, and Ely advanced into a winners' bracket game on Friday with Iola, Kan.
Post 248 prevailed in a contest dominated by two pitchers: Snyder and Logan Hold. Ely's senior lefthander retired 14 consecutive batters in one stretch and finished with a two-hitter and 11 strikeouts.
Hold, meanwhile, was the tough-luck losing pitcher while giving up only two hits.
Snyder walked two batters in the first but the Ely ace stranded runners at the corners and went into shutdown mode, holding Las Vegas without a hit until the sixth.
Ely wasted a one-out double by Snyder in the second inning and didn't threaten again until the final frame.
That's when Trevor Bernsdorf opened the inning with an infield hit. Riley Bernsdorf moved his older brother over with a sacrifice bunt, but Hold retired Nick Mathews with a ground out. Snyder followed with a ground ball that evaded the glove of the Las Vegas second baseman, and Ely had its first regional win since 2005.
Ely lost two straight games at last year's regional - one by one run and the other in eight innings.
In other first round action Thursday:
* Iola (Kan.) 11, Grafton (N.D.) 4;
* Plato (Minn). 3, Wisconsin Dells (Wis.) 2 (10)
* Wahpeton (N.D.) 4, Groton (S.D.) 3.
The tournament continues Friday with six games. Action can be followed online at www.wahpetonbaseball.org.
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