Comets finish 2-3 at Kalispell tournament

The Havre Comets picked up a pair of much needed wins this past weekend at the Kalispell Lakers American Legion baseball tournament.

After losing several one-run games because of late-inning rallies, the Comets finally held off the Silver Valley Miners for an 11-10 win Friday to open the tournament.

After trailing 4-0 in the third inning, the Comets rallied with five runs in the bottom of the third inning. Jess McLain and Tyson Anderson ripped two-run singles and Sean Peterson drove in a run with a fielder's choice as Havre took a 5-4 lead.

Silver Valley tied the game in the fourth inning, but the Comets forged ahead with four runs in the bottom half of the inning as John Christian laced an RBI single, Josh Morse added a sacrifice fly and Mike Olson scored on a balk.

Up 9-5, the Comets still made things interesting. Silver Valley scored three runs in the fifth off of McLain and two runs in the sixth off of Anderson to go up 10-9.

But Havre rallied with two runs in the sixth as Olson led off with a single and Scott Ladenburg walked to start the inning. Peterson drove in Olson with a single and Ladenburg scored the game-winning run on an error.

Peterson came in in the seventh and shut down the Miners to save the win.

Olson led Havre with three hits and three runs scored, while McLain had two hits and two RBIs. Josh Lowe and Christian added two hits each for Havre. Anderson got the win in relief for the Comets.

On Saturday, the Comets were back on the losing end of a one-run game, as the Kootenai Valley Rangers rallied for a 9-8 win over Havre.

The Comets took an 8-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh, only to see Kootenai Valley score three runs in its final at-bat to pick up the win.

Havre lead for much of the game, grabbing a 5-2 lead after five innings thanks to a pair of RBI singles from Olson, an RBI single from Billy Siebrasse and a pair of Ranger errors.

The Comets went up 8-3 as McLain, Lowe and Richard Jarvis all had RBI singles.

But the Rangers got to reliever Austin Small, scoring three runs in the sixth, capitalizing on a pair of Havre errors to cut the lead to 8-6.

In the seventh, Kootenai Valley racked up five hits off of Peterson to get the win.

Olson and McLain had three hits each for Havre, while Siebrasse was 2-3 with an RBI.

Things didn't get any better on Saturday afternoon, as the very tough Bitterroot Bucs shellacked the Comets 20-1. The Bucs pounded out 17 hits and took advantage of six Comet errors. The Bucs were only up 8-1 going into the top of the seventh, but scored 12 runs on nine hits in their final at-bat to turn the game into a blowout.

The Comets' lone run came in the sixth inning as Jess McLain led off with a single and later scored as Small drew a bases-loaded walk.

Christian, McLain and Anderson had Havre's only hits in the game.

On Sunday morning, the Comets fell to the Libby Loggers 12-2 in five innings.

Havre managed just two hits - an RBI single from Small and a single from Olson - in the loss.

But the Comets ended the tournament on a positive note with a 15-5 win over the Calgary Longhorns. It was the first time this season that the Comets have beaten a team via the 10-run mercy rule.

After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first, Havre rallied with six runs in the bottom of the half of the inning. Jarvis ripped a two-run double, Small had a two-run single and Peterson added an RBI single in the rally.

Peterson drove in two more runs in the second inning with a two-run triple to left as the Comets went up 8-3. Havre added another run in the third and then put the game away in the fifth as Olson, Peterson, Christian and Lowe all had run-scoring singles.

Small led the Havre offense with four hits, three runs scored and two RBIs. Peterson finished 3-3 with four RBIs while Christian and Lowe also had three hits each.

Lowe picked up the win in relief of Anderson, pitching four and two-thirds innings, allowing just two runs on four hits.

The Comets return to conference action today when they face the Fort MacLeod Royals at 5 p.m. at Legion Field.

Havre 11, Silver Valley 10

Silver Valley Miners 130 132 0 - 10 9 4

Havre Comets 005 402 x - 11 12 2

Jess McLain (5) Tyson Anderson (WP), Sean Peterson (S), and Josh Morse

MINERS HITTING - not available

COMETS HITTING - Josh Lowe 2-5, Richard Jarvis 1-5, Austin Small 0-3, Tyson Anderson 1-3 (2 RBI), Mike Olson 3-3, Jess McLain 2-3 (2 RBI), John Christian 2-3 (RBI), Sean Peterson 1-3 (2 RBI), Josh Morse 0-2 (RBI).

Kootenai Valley 9, Havre 8

Havre Comets 103 103 0 - 8 11 4

Kootenai Valley Rangers 101 013 3 - 9 11 3

John Christian (4), Austin Small (1), Sean Peterson (LP) and Mike Olson

COMETS HITTING - Richard Jarvis 1-4 (RBI), Jess McLain 3-4 (RBI), Austin Small 0-4, Mike Olson 3-4 (2 RBI), Sean Peterson 0-4, Tom Knudson 1-2, John Christian 0-2, Bryden Vukasin 0-2, Tyson Anderson 0-2, Billy Siebrasse 2-3 (RBI), Scott Ladenburg 2-3 (RBI), Josh Lowe 1-1 RBI).

RANGERS HITTING - not available

2B - McLain

Bitterroot 20, Havre 1

Bitterroot Bucs 020 330 12 - 20 17 1

Havre Comets 000 001 0 - 1 3 6

Scott Ladenburg (LP), Tom Knudson (5), Richard Jarvis (5) and Josh Morse.

BUCS HITTING - not available

COMETS HITTING - Josh Lowe 0-4, John Christian 1-3, Jess McLain 1-2,Tyson Anderson 1-2, Mike Olson 0-2, Austin Small 0-2, Sean Peterson 0-1, Richard Jarvis 0-2, Josh Morse 0-3, Billy Siebrasse 0-1, Tom Knudson 0-2.

Libby 12, Havre Comets 2

Havre Comets 200 00 - 2 2 1

Libby Loggers 541 11 - 12 15 0

COMETS HITTING - Josh Morse 0-2, Jess McLain 0-2, Austin Small 1-2 (RBI), Mike Olson 1-3, John Christian 0-1, Bryden Vukasin 0-1, Sean Peterson 0-0 (RBI), Billy Siebrasse 0-2, Scott Ladenburg 0-2, Tom Knudson 0-1.

LOGGERS HITTING - not available

Havre 15, Calgary 5

Calgary Longhorns 301 01 - 5 5 3

Havre Comets 621 06 - 15 15 2

Tyson Anderson (1), Josh Lowe (WP) and Josh Morse

LONGHORNS HITTING - not available

COMETS HITTING - Josh Lowe 2-2 (RBI), Jess McLain 0-4, Tyson Anderson 0-3, Mike Olson 1-3 (RBI), Austin Small 4-4 (2 RBI), John Christian 3-4 (2 RBI), Richard Jarvis 1-3 (2 RBI), Sean Peterson 3-3 (4 RBI), Josh Morse 0-3.

2B- Jarvis, Small

3B - Peterson