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Late rally sinks Wolves, Mesabi East plates eight to win it

by Tom Coombe

A commanding lead didn’t hold up and the Ely Timberwolves let a potential season-opening victory slip away.

Mesabi East scored eight times in the bottom of the seventh inning, erasing a seven-run deficit and pulling out a 13-12 high school softball victory April 14 at Aurora.

The Wolves had two big innings, scoring six times in the third and adding four more runs in the top of the fifth, but the pendulum swung to Mesabi East in the home half of the seventh.

The Giants started to warm up their bats against   Ely pitcher Zoe Mackenzie and scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.

It was the only action of the week for the Wolves, who like most other area teams have been sidelined by a slow-to-arrive spring and snow-covered fields.

Games set for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week were postponed and an April 24 clash at Northeast Range appears to be in jeopardy, given a forecast for several inches of snow and 30-degree temperatures.

But the sun was shining and it was in the 60s for the game at Mesabi East, where softball is played on an artificial turf football field.

Ely jumped out to an early lead with several contributors on offense.

Eighth-grader Peyton Huntington, a newcomer to the Timberwolves’ lineup, was two-for-three while starting behind the plate.

Ella Perish, Grace Flynn and Clare Thomas all added two hits for the Wolves.

In the circle, Mackenzie went the distance and took the loss. She gave up 13 hits and walked four.

The weather has put Ely’s home debut - now set for April 27 against Chisholm - in jeopardy.

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