Sports

For all but about 20 minutes, the Vermilion Ironmen had a near-perfect day of baseball.
But that 20-minute lull - in a span of more than four hours - cost Vermilion dearly and resulted in a doubleheader split with Northern Division rival Tuesday at Proctor.
After sophomore Lukas Adelman blanked the Norse 10-0 in the opening game, Vermilion blew a 9-3, sixth-inning lead in the nightcap when the Norse sent 12 batters to the plate and tied the score.
Mesabi went on to push across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh and secured the split with a dramatic 10-9 win.
The late-inning meltdown took some of the luster off an otherwise splendid day for the Ironmen, who got superb starting pitching performances from Adelman and fellow sophomore Connor Knettel and ripped 26 hits, including six by freshman Dawson Linkert.

ON THE BENCH - Blake Schaller, Peyton Gregory, Tommy Homer, Owen Brekke and Kaiden Zupancich watch Ty Walker pass the puck in the Pee Wee B State Tournament in Plymouth.

by Tom Coombe -

by Tom Coombe -

Vermilion’s Kaleb Beane returned to familiar territory and made quite a first impression.
The native of Tallahassee, Fla., returned to the Sunshine State for the Ironmen’s season-opening baseball trip and had two strong pithcing performances.
The first was March 8, when he gave up two hits over five innings and pitched the Ironmen to a 9-1 victory over Northern Division rival Mesabi.
Beane’s outing, as well as a strong second start in a 7-1 loss to Division II Lewis and Clark (Ill.) Monday, along with sophomore Kyle Hintz’s gem in a hard-luck 2-1 Tuesday defeat to MN State-Fergus Falls were among the highlights of a weeklong stay for the Ironmen.

Vermilion's Kaleb Beane returned to familiar territory and made quite a first impression.

The native of Tallahassee, Fla., returned to the Sunshine State for the Ironmen's season-opening baseball trip and had two strong pithcing performances.

The first was March 8, when he gave up two hits over five innings and pitched the Ironmen to a 9-1 victory over Northern Division rival Mesabi.

Fellow freshman Chase Bottin had four runs batted in, three on his first career home run, and Dawson Linkert added more freshman punch to the lineup and contributed two hits as VCC gained its only win on a weeklong seven-game junket.

Beane was effective on the mound Tuesday, giving up two earned runs in five innings as VCC fell 7-2 to Lewis and Clark, a Division II scholarship juior college from Illinois.

by Tom Coombe -

Brandon Barbee's last-second putback ended the Ely Timberwolves' season and their bid for a Section 7A boys basketball tournament upset.

Barbee snared an offensive rebound and scored just as time expired, capping off an 8-0 Lakeview Christian Academy run in the last three minutes and giving his Lions a 62-60 7A quarterfinal win Saturday night at Romano Gymnasium on the campus of the University of MInnesota-Duluth.

The sixth-seeded Wolves, who finished 17-11, led for much of the game and went up 60-54 with 2:48 left.

But the Wolves never took another shot and turnovers were deadly down the home stretch.

Barbee tied it up with 1:25 left and the Wolves soon turned the ball over, allowing the third-seeded Lions to hold for the last shot.

The late collapse spoiled a spirited effort by the Wolves, who fell 67-51 to LCA during the regular season and played without injured starting guard Eric Omerza.

LAUNCHING a shot for the Wolves against Hill City was Brock Latourell in a home playoff game Wednesday.

by Tom Coombe -

FREE PIZZA from newfound friends during a traffic jam on the VCC baseball team’s trip to Florida.

WINNING ELY SQUIRT TEAM at the 2019 Erik Marwick Memorial Tournament in Virginia. Kneeling (l-r): Nico Lenci, Owen Marolt, Cazimiro Carlson, Sean Merriman, Hunter Halbakken, Evan Leeson. Standing: Ozzie Anderson, Sylvia Shock, Jayden Zemke, Tyler Forsberg, Brayden Akins, Jon Schlosser, Brady Eaton, Ryland Sandy, Stig Majerus. Absent from photo: Lewey Powell. Coaches: Justin Zemke, Bill Forsberg, Joe Majerus, & Head Coach Nicole Carlson.

by Tom Coombe -