Both last year and in 2023, Ely’s American Legion baseball team came within one game of a state tournament berth but settled for substate runner-up finishes.
But given that this year’s Division II State Tournament will be held in Ely, and with it comes an automatic berth for the host team, some of the drama may be absent for Post 248 when the Northeast Substate Playoffs start in mid-July.
That comes with both positives and drawbacks as the 2025 season begins, according to longtime head coach Tom Coombe.
It could be argued that Ely, which opened with a victory against Taconite Wednesday, has little to play for until the state tournament begins here July 31.
But Coombe said he believes that could be a recipe for disaster.
“We can’t just go through the motions between now and the state tournament,” said Coombe. “I don’t think that would bode well for us at all. It’s not like you can turn things on and off like a light switch.”
Instead, Post 248 will hone up against strong competition this summer and has its typically-packed scheduled, which includes two home tournaments and a southern road trip in late-June.
Ely figures to contend in the Northeast and hopes to be competitive in the state tournament, given backto- back substate runner-up finishes and the return of several starters.
Post 248 also has the nucleus of an Ely high school team that took second in Section 7A and many players who were part of an Ely Junior Legion team that reached the state tournament a year ago.
“We have some guys who are used to winning,” said Coombe, who picked up his 600th career win as Ely’s Legion coach in 2025. “I don’t know that we’ll have a whole lot of depth or firepower, but this group, whether it was Legion or Junior Legion last summer or high school in the spring, has proven that they like to compete.
For Post 248, success will start on the pitching mound and Ely figures to have plenty of depth.
The pitching staff was the strength of the high school team and will be led by senior-to-be Hunter Halbakken, who won all-conference honors and compiled a 9-2 record on the mound.
Add Louie Panichi, a lefty from North Woods and one of the Legion team’s top pitchers last summer, and Ely has a couple of potential aces. Panichi was 4-1 last summer with a minuscule 1.12 earned run average with 45 strikeouts in 37 innings.
Two other key cogs in the rotation are North Woods senior Talen Jarshaw, who threw a no-hitter at the Junior Legion level, as well as sophomore Owen Marolt.
Senior Caid Chittum won four games on the mound last summer, but his pitching was limited during the spring because of a back injury.
Chittum, however, is likely to anchor the Ely lineup and gives Post 248 one of the top shortstops in the area.
He is a four-time all-conference performer in high school and hit over .500 for the Wolves. Last summer, Chittum hit .429 at the Legion level.
Panichi, who will likely be in center field when not on the mound, hit .398 as a sophomore and has one of the top returning bats in the Ely lineup.
Post 248 also should get an offensive jolt from junior infielder Drew Johnson and senior catcher Ben Leeson.
Jarshaw figures to move into the Ely lineup this summer, as well as Halbakken, while Post 248 may also get a boost from several sophomores who played key roles for the high school team, including Marolt, outfielder Sean Merriman, infielder Evan Leeson, outfielder Tyde Brecke and first baseman Stig Majerus.
Ely’s strengths will be put to the test both during the upcoming DQ Grill and Chill Classic and July’s Ely Echo Midsummer Classic.
The postseason road also goes through Ely, with the Northeast Substate Playoffs starting here, then moving on to Cloquet, and leading to the state tournament, which runs from July 31-Aug. 2.
