Wolves drop close ones

Ely’s high school baseball team was on the short end of a pair of close games last week.Section 7AA rivals Greenway and Two Harbors both scored narrow victories over the Timberwolves, with Greenway edging Ely 2-1 in an April 22 game at Marble, and the Agates spoiling the locals’ home debut with a 7-5 decision on Monday.Ely fell to 2-2 on the season.Defense was the difference as the Wolves and Agates squared off on a cold and blustery day at Veterans Memorial Field. Two Harbors took advantage of several Ely errors and came up with four unearned runs against losing pitcher Nick Furnstahl.“Those are two even teams,” said Ely Head Coach Frank Ivancich. “They had three errors and we had six and that was the difference.”A four-run first inning gave the Wolves a 4-1 lead. Tim Scott and Jay Olson had run-scoring hits, and Paul Starkovich plated two with a single to stake Furnstahl to the early lead.Two Harbors rallied to tie the game at four, but doubles by Olson and Ben Povhe gave Ely a 5-4 lead after three stanzas.The Agates countered with two runs in the sixth, and the visitors took advantage of three Ely errors in the sixth to take a two-run lead.Ely threatened to tie, but winning pitcher Andy Cavallin escaped a sixth-inning jam by stranding runners at second and third.Cavallin finished with a nine-hitter and three strikeouts.Furnstahl gave up eight hits and fanned three while going the distance.At the plate, Scott had three of the Wolves’ nine hits while Olson finished with two hits and three runs batted in. Starkovich knocked in two.“They’re a good team,” said Ivancich. “We had some chances but we couldn’t cash in and they hit well enough to win.”Three nights earlier, Greenway struggled against Scott until the sixth, when the Raiders pushed across two runs and pulled out the win.Scott, who finished with a three-hitter and eight strikeouts, kept the unbeaten (5-0) Raiders at bay for five innings.And in the sixth, the rally started with a strikeout that got past the catcher and went to the backstop.Cody Ekholm then singled home the tying run, and he moved to second on a balk, stole third and scored the winning run on a passed ball.Ely’s offensive opportunities were limited by Greenway sophomore Joe Swann, who fired a four-hitter.Scott doubled to drive in Ely’s only run, but the Wolves were kept off the board the rest of the way.“We ran into a good pitcher and they made all the routine plays in the field,” said Ivancich. “It was a very good high school baseball game.”