Ely ousted from districts

Ely couldn't come up with a timely hit Friday and the result was two tough losses and an exit from the Eighth District Division II Playoffs.

Top-seeded Moose Lake slipped past Ely 3-2 in a winners' bracket contest at Cohasset, and the defeat sent Post 248 into the elimination round, where it fell 7-4 to Taconite in Deer River.

Ely's Will Gustafson and Moose Lake's Rex Janke hooked up in a pitchers' duel in the opener, and Ely jumped to an early lead with two runs in the top of the third.

Brody Skala's double to the fence set the table, and runs scored later in the frame on hits by Kyle Durbin and Gustafson.

Moose Lake answered right back in the bottom of the third and tied the score, and the deadlock was broken in the bottom of the fifth.

But Gustafson escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep it close, and Ely threatened in both the sixth and seventh frames.

Reliever Brad Fossum recorded the final four outs to get the save and Moose Lake (25-13) advanced into a winners' bracket meeting with Esko.

Gustafson scattered seven hits in the loss while both Skala and Andy Krunkkala had two hits for Ely.

In the nightcap, Ely jumped out to a 2-0 lead again and threatened to break the game open in the second when it loaded the bases with one out.  A line drive off the bat of  Gage Merhar was snared and resulted in a double play, turning momentum Taconite's way.

The middle innings belonged to Taconite, as it took a 3-2 lead in in the third and greeted reliever Kyle Durbin with two runs in the fifth.

It  was 7-2 before Ely staged a last-gasp rally in the seventh. Gustafson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Elliot Omerza came up with a sacrifice fly to close the gap.  Ely brought the tying run to the plate but winning pitcher Mike Chapurdia escaped and got the final out.

Omerza was tagged with the pitching loss, and both Durbin and Tayler Banks worked in relief.  Merhar had two hits and scored twice for Ely.