AURORA—The Mesabi East baseball team got a strong performance from senior Dakota Kruse on Monday as the Giants maneuvered their way past visiting Ely, 5-1.
Kruse went nearly the full distance, striking out 11 batters over 6.2 innings of work before exiting the game in the bottom of the seventh due to hitting the pitch count. At the plate, he added a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to give Mesabi East a 4-0 lead at the time.
Giants head coach Chad Sahr gave credit to Kruse for showing up in a must-win situation.
“He had a good game and that’s what we need from guys like him,” Sahr said. “Gamers like that show up in big games. We want to win out the rest of the season so we can get a chance at hosting some playoff games so we need all the help we can get and we need guys like him to show up in big moments.
“He pitched well, hit the pitch count at the end and we’ve been working on trying to make him a bit more efficient and see if we can get a full game out of him. We got as close as we could this time.”
The two run homer, as well, also played a big role in shoring up the Mesabi East lead.
“He’s always hit the ball well. He’s one of our top hitters and he’s working that three spot well. When he gets a hold of it, who knows what’s going to happen.”
The Timberwolves got over six innings of work from starter Owen Marolt, the team’s fifth pitching option after their top four were all used up over the weekend in the Ely Showcase. Ely head coach Frank Ivancich said it was a good chance for the freshman to get some important experience.
“We played two on Friday, had two really good pitching outings and played two more on Saturday so our top four were out,” Ivancich said. “Owen’s pitched a few games and he competed well today. He pitched fine and gave us a chance but there were some miscues and things you need to clean up, some mental things.
“We struggled hitting the ball with Kruse pitching and he’s the real deal. He spots the ball well and has a nice breaking ball so we were struggling with some of those close pitches. We’re not a very potent offense. We can pitch and play defense and he made it a lot tougher on us today.”
Kruse faced the minimum number of batters through the first two innings and gave up a pair of hits in the third but Ely couldn’t capitalize as the score stood at zero for both sides early on.
The Giants got going in the bottom of the third with Jared Snetsinger starting things off with a single to right. Landon Mathison then knocked one down the third base line to reach safely.
The first run came in to score with Ryder Gerulli knocking a one-out single to center-left and the bases were loaded up soon after when Kruse drew a walk.
The second run of the inning came in to score when Landon Luke knocked an infield single.
Kruse gave up a walk to start the top of the fourth but delivered three straight strikeouts to keep Ely off the board. Marolt and Kruse traded quiet innings until the Giants got a bomb from Kruse in the fifth.
Gerulli started the inning off getting hit by a pitch, putting him on first and bringing Kruse up to the plate. The senior wasted little time, rocketing one of Marolt over the right field fence just to the left of the scoreboard to make it a 4-0 game.
“You hit a batter like that right before Kruse comes up and you know he can make you pay,” Ivancich said. “Credit to him for getting it done at the plate and on the mound. He can do just about everything and was making great defensive plays as well.”
The Timberwolves got on the board in the top of the sixth, starting with a one-out single up the middle from Caid Chittum. A fielder’s choice saw Ben Leeson reach and he moved to second on the steal. He came in not long after when Elliot Levens singled to center, 4-1.
The Giants chased Marolt out of the game in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a single from Louie Karish. He stole his way to second and then took third on a fielder’s choice. The Giants got runners on the corners when Mathison was hit by a pitch, signaling the end of Marolt’s day on the mound.
Jack Davies came in to try and get out of the inning but the lead runner came in to score on a sacrifice fly from Cooper Sickel, making it a 5-1 game.
Kruse etched two outs in the third and Sickel picked up the third after he hit his pitch limit to give Mesabi East the 5-1 win, still leaving the Giants’ hopes alive for hosting a few playoff games as a top four seed in Section 7AA.
Looking at the game as a whole, Sahr said after the fact that he was pleased with his team’s defensive work but had hoped for something more when it came to their baserunning.
“I was fine with our defense but I wasn’t real happy with our baserunning again. We got some guys that are making some mistakes that should have been washed out in week one or week two. Hopefully we can keep getting better every day and try to make a run at things next Tuesday.
For Ivancich, he did see some positives offensively after his team got through the order against Kruse.
“We were able to put a little bit of pressure on. We got a few hits but we were already behind the 8-ball at that point. Mesabi East is tough once they get out in front. Maybe we were a bit tired from over the weekend but that can’t be an excuse.”
Looking ahead, Ivancich says his team should have plenty of upside heading into the postseason considering their tough schedule this season.
“It’s been an up and down year and we’re sitting at 8—9 now. Our schedule hasn’t been easy and I think that’s something that can help us going into the playoffs. We just need to have more competitive at bats and get our offense going like our defense and pitching can.”
With Mesabi East’s regular season finale with GNK rained out on Tuesday, they’re now playing the waiting game to see if they’ll get the game in before week’s end.
“Hopefully we can close out the season with a good game,” Sahr said. “Win or lose, we just want to play a good game and then go into the playoffs playing well. If our bats show up, we can win games. If they don’t, who knows.”
Section 7A Softball
Ely 4,
Floodwood 3
ELY—The Ely softball team kept their season alive on Monday, winning their Section 7A opening round matchup with Floodwood 4-3.
Zoe MacKenzie got the win in the circle for the Timberwolves, striking out eight batters over seven innings pitched.
Peyton Huntington and Mackenzie Huntington had a pair of hits each to lead the offense.
Ely will next take on South Ridge on Thursday in the second round of the 7A tournament.
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