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Halbakken notches two straight wins, runs spring total to five
A well-timed break in the schedule allowed the Ely Timberwolves to make best use of their pitching ace - junior Hunter Halbakken.
Twice in five days, Halbakken went to the mound and led the high school baseball team to victories.
The righthander tossed a complete game three-hitter Monday as the Wolves downed Mesabi East 4-1 at Aurora.
That followed a complete game May 1 at Mt. Iron, where Halbakken blanked the host MIB Rangers on two hits, with nine strikeouts, in a 4-0 Ely victory.
Heading into a busy weekend, which includes two games at Saturday’s Blackduck Tournament and a Friday showdown with section powerhouse South Ridge, the Wolves stood at 8-1 and are ranked third in Section 7A - behind only Cherry and South Ridge.
Halbakken, who is 5-0 on the mound, has been a huge part of the Wolves’ fast start and hasn’t given up more than two runs in any outing this spring.
He has also shown good control, with only two walks against Mesabi East and four against Mt. Iron-Buhl.
In his last three starts, Halbakken has also notched 23 strikeouts.
With that sort of pitching, Ely hasn’t needed an explosive offense and the Wolves have scored just enough to keep their opponents at bay.
Ely used a bit of “small ball” to put Mesabi East away, with sacrifice bunts by sophomore Owen Marolt leading to all three Ely runs. Shortstop Caid Chittum singled and scored twice for the Wolves, while Ben Leeson singled and scored one, and Stig Majerus added a run-scoring hit. Drew Johnson had the Wolves’ only other hit in the game against the Class AA Giants.
The game at Mt. Iron followed a similar pattern as Halbakken faced only 24 batters, three above the minimum.
No Ranger runner got past first in the game and Halbakken yielded only two hits and was aided by an Ely defense that turned three double plays.
Chittum swung a hot bat, lining two hits including a double with a run batted in.
Johnson had a run-scoring hit and Marolt chipped in with a double that plated a run.
Sophomore outfielder Tyde Brecke also had two hits.
• The Wolves will tangle with both host Blackduck and Red Lake County at the Blackduck Tournament, and Ely’s 11th annual Veterans Memorial Showcase takes place May 16-17 at Veterans Memorial Field.
In a 1:30 p.m. Friday matinee, Ely has a rematch with Blackduck while defending section champion Cherry is the opponent at 7 p.m. Friday evening.
Four more games follow at the ballpark on Saturday, May 17, with Ely taking on West Marshall of northwestern Minnesota in a 2:30 p.m. tilt.
• Ely currently is in line to host Section 7A playoff games at its ballpark on Tuesday, May 28.
