Baseball Jamboree starts today

Don't call it a tournament. It's not a tournament. There is no ultimate winner.

Realistically, every team is a winner in this format as the Havre Baseball Jamboree kicks off today at 3 p.m. at Legion Field.

While some may want to think of the four days of baseball as a tournament, it is what it's named - a jamboree - chock full of baseball games with teams from around the state of Montana.

In all, 10 teams, including the Havre Comets and Havre Northstars, will grace the diamond, playing enough baseball to make the most diehard "seamhead" satisfied.

The Northstars, 17-7 on the season, are coming off a successful run of three consecutive doubleheader sweeps last week. After a slow start, they appear to be making another run for a Northern District title.

The Northstars are hitting .333 as a team and have 220 hits on the season. Their pitching has been particularly strong, with a team earned-run average of 2.01 and a 7.45 strikeout per game average.

However, for manager Mickey Williams, this weekend could be a little more difficult than planned. The Northstars will be without a host of players.

"We are going to be pretty shorthanded this weekend," Williams said. "We have some key players missing because of other commitments. It's tough because we were just starting to find a starting lineup and now we are going to have to kind of play it by ear."

The Northstars second-leading hitter, Ian Spencer, will be gone for the entire weekend. Spencer, who is in California for a family function, leads the team in RBIs, hits and extra base hits. He is also Havre's leading pitcher, with a 3-1 record and 1.25 earned-run average.

Also missing will be starting shortstop and another valuable pitcher, Trent Normandy, who is playing in a prestigious amateur golf tournament.

Normandy is hitting .302 on the season and has been solid at short. He is also 3-1 on the mound this season.

Starting first baseman Ben Erickson will miss most of the weekend with commitment to Boys' State. Erickson is coming off a solid stretch of hitting and started to solidify himself as the starter at first.

Williams will also lose leading hitter Daine Solomon on Sunday for his commitment to the Mon-Dak All-Star football game. To make matters a little more difficult, tonight's planned starter on the mound, Bret Magelssen, is in North Dakota for school orientation and might not be back in time.

"We're are going to have to play some kids in some different positions, and we need our pitchers to really step up and give us quality innings," he said. "We also need our defense to be better. With our shorthanded pitching, we can't afford mistakes that lead to long innings and a lot of pitches."

With the absences, Williams moved up second baseman Jeff Tibbals from the Comets - something he had intended to do anyway - but just a little earlier than he planned.

Tibbals was the Comets' leading hitter in just about every category. He was hitting .371 with six RBIs and 10 runs scored.

While Comets manager Andy Smith doesn't have quite the personnel problems Williams has, losing his leading hitter and one of his on-field leaders will be tough.

"Jeff had really been playing well for us," Smith said. "Not only was he one of our better hitters, but we also planned to use him as the fourth pitcher in our rotation."

The Comets are coming off a conference split against and Smith is hoping to build off that momentum with some home nonconference games.

"The kids are excited to get to play at home against some different teams from around the state," Smith said. "The teams we play are similar to our caliber of play. They should be some good games."

The weekend will allow Smith's four starting pitchers - Sean Peterson, John Christian, Austin Small and Tyson Anderson - a chance to start a game, while his hitters will get plenty of at-bats.

Offensively, the Comets are hitting just .246 on the season and have struck out 97 times in 395 official at-bats. That's not a statistic that particularly pleases Smith.

"We need to start looking to put the ball in play more," Smith said. "That's just too many strikeouts. The defense doesn't have to do anything against a strikeout. We've been working on shortening up the kids' swings and putting the ball in play and making teams play defense."

But it won't be an easy road for the Comets or the Northstars. The jamboree field once against includes some of the top Class A teams from around the state.

Perennial state tournament qualifiers - the Bitterroot Red Sox, Bitterroot Bucs and Gallatin Valley Outlaws - will all be in Havre looking to get accustomed to the surroundings as Legion Field will host the Class A State Tournament.

"Those three teams always field good squads," Williams said. "It's good for us to get a look at them early on to see where we're at in comparison."

The Red Sox defeated the Bucs for last year's Class A State title for their fifth title in seven years. The Red Sox return almost every player from last year's squad including third baseman Joe Franklin, who was recently drafted by the Texas Rangers after spending last season at Dawson Community College. Also back for Bitterroot are shortstop Kyle Melton, pitcher David DeSantiago and leftfielder Jordan Mousley.

The Bucs, who defeated the Northstars in first-round action at last year's state tourney, are led by pitcher David Hanks and hitters Phil Perez, Cam and Chance Edman and J.C. Shepherd.

Gallatin Valley brings an impressive 17-0 record into the tournament and has solid players in Zeb Miller, Justin Chaffins and Nate Anderson.

The Deer Lodge Wranglers are led by talented lefthander Shane Niederklein, while the Great Falls Black Sox - a senior little league squad - has several quality players who left both the Great Falls Stallions and Electrics to play for them, including Brian Bollwitt, Tyler Whitaker, and Nick Reichelt.

Two new entries in this year's tourney are the Billings Braves - a Babe Ruth All-Star squad of 15-year-olds and the Havre 15-year-old all-star squad. The Havre All-Stars will play just one game, as Billings has to leave early for a prior commitment. The team, coached by Tony Vigliotti, Travis Abdallah and Bill Wirtzberger, will face the Comets at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The Havre Baseball Jamboree will run today through Sunday at Legion Field. Admission will be charged.

Today

3 p.m. - Billings Braves vs. Great Falls Black Sox

5:30 p.m. - Glasgow Reds vs. Havre Comets

8 p.m. - Deer Lodge Wranglers vs. Havre Northstars

Friday

8:30 a.m. - Great Falls Black Sox vs. Glasgow Reds

11 a.m. - Billings Braves vs. Deer Lodge Wranglers

1:30 p.m. - Bitterroot Bucs vs. Billings Braves

4 p.m. - Glasgow Reds vs. Gallatin Valley Outlaws

6:30 p.m. - Deer Lodge Wranglers vs. Havre Comets

9 p.m. - Bitterroot Red Sox vs. Havre Northstars

Saturday

8:30 p.m. - Deer Lodge Wranglers vs. Bitterroot Bucs

11 a.m. - Havre Babe Ruth All-Stars vs. Havre Comets

1:30 p.m. - Bitterroot Red Sox vs. Glasgow Reds

4 p.m. - Great Falls Black Sox vs. Bitterroot Bucs

6:30 p.m. - Gallatin Valley Outlaws vs. Havre Northstars

9 p.m. - Great Falls Black Sox vs. Havre Comets

Sunday

9 a.m. - Gallatin Valley Outlaws vs. Bitterroot Red Sox

11:30 p.m. - Bitterroot Bucs vs. Gallatin Valley Outlaws

2 p.m. - Bitterroot Bucs vs. Havre Northstars