Northstars stay perfect in conference

The Havre Northstars simply cannot play much better in Northern District baseball games.

The Northstars moved to a perfect 29-0 in conference play with four wins this past weekend, continuing their dominance over Northern District foes.

Havre rolled to an easy doubleheader sweep over the Tri-County Cardinals on Saturday, scoring 22 runs and banging out 27 hits in two games.

The Northstars opened with an 11-1 five-inning win in the opening game of the doubleheader, as Chase Castloo won his seventh game of the season.

Castloo allowed just one run and three hits in five innings of work, while striking out four Cardinal hitters.

Havre jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning. Ian Spencer ripped a two-run double and Trent Normandy added an RBI double.

With Castloo cruising, the Northstars tacked on four more runs in the fourth, powered by home runs from Spencer and Ricky Houim. Spencer notched his team-high 10th bomb of the season, a three-run shot. Houim got his second of the year with a solo shot.

"We hit the ball hard right from the start and set the tone," Northstars manager Mickey Williams said. "Chase did a good job of getting ahead of hitters and throwing strikes."

Daine Solomon had three hits and scored two runs to lead the Havre offense. Spencer had two hits and five RBIs, while Normandy also had two hits and drove in two runs.

The Northstars completed the sweep with an 11-2 win in the nightcap, shaking off a slow start and exploding for nine runs in the fifth inning.

Trailing 2-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, Havre banged out five consecutive base hits to get things started. Castloo had a big inning, with an RBI double and an RBI single. Normandy and Patterson added RBI doubles, while Eric Fanning and Daine Solomon had RBI singles.

"We've gotten into the habit of coming out a little sluggish in that second game," Williams said. "I don't know if we lose focus. But we did a good job of coming back."

On Sunday, Havre completed the season sweep over the Great Falls Sparkies with a pair of wins.

In the opening game, Brandon Morse had one of his most dominant outings of the season.

Morse struck out 19 batters and allowed just two runs on six hits in a 7-5 win. On the season, Morse has struck out 111 batters in 74 innings pitched.

"Brandon really was tough to hit," Williams said. "His ball was moving pretty well. With the way he was throwing, the game shouldn't have been as close as it was."

Indeed, a pair of Havre errors led to three unearned runs and almost cost the Northstars the game.

Great Falls held a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of fifth. However, Havre rallied with Wirtzberger delivering a two-run single and Spencer, Patterson, Tony Christian and Eric Fanning all driving in runs.

With the lead, Morse fanned five of the next eight batters he faced to end the game and pick up his ninth win of the season.

Solomon had a fantastic game at the plate for Havre. He finished 4-4 with a run scored, including two doubles and a triple. Patterson and Christian added two hits each for Havre.

Things weren't quite as close in the nightcap as Havre won 15-5. Great Falls took a 5-3 lead in the top of the third as Havre committed a pair of errors that led to the five runs and chased starting pitcher Bret Magelssen from the mound.

The Northstars immediately erased the deficit in the fourth inning as Solomon laced a two-run single to left to tie the game.

Havre took the lead in the fifth inning as Solomon struck again with a bases-loaded triple that scored three runs. Ben Erickson added a two-run single and Wirtzberger had an RBI single as the Northstars scored six runs in the inning.

The Northstars ended the game in the sixth inning, as Solomon, Spencer and Erickson all drove in runs.

Spencer picked up the win in relief of Magelssen, allowing just two hits in four innings of relief.

Solomon led the Havre offense with four hits and six RBIs, including a pair of triples. Erickson had a solid game with three hits and three RBIs, while Wirtzberger added two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored.

For the weekend, Solomon had 13 hits in 16 at-bats and leads the Northstars in hitting with a gaudy .468 batting average. Spencer is just three points behind at .465, while Normandy is at .442.

"Daine had a big weekend for us," Williams said. "We are going to need games like that from him as we get into the district and state tournaments."

The Northern District tournament will open Thursday in Lethbridge.

Havre 11, Tri-County 1

Tri-County Cardinals 001 00 - 1 3 1

Havre Northstars 443 0x - 11 11 0

D. Gordon and J. Pyette; Chase Castloo and Ricky Houim.

WP - Castloo; LP - Gordon.

CARDINALS HITTING - Pyette 0-1, Styren 0-3, Smith 1-2, Gordon 0-2, Rosenberger 0-2, Christians 1-2, Brown 0-2, Gardipee 0-2, Englehardt 1-2.

NORTHSTARS HITTING - Daine Solomon 3-3, Patch Wirtzberger 1-2 (2 RBI), Ian Spencer 2-3 (5 RBI), Trent Normandy 2-3 (2 RBI), Jordon Patterson 1-3, Cory Junck 0-1, Ben Erickson 0-3, Ricky Houim 1-3 (RBI), Jeff Tibbals 1-3.

2B - Solomon, Spencer, Normandy, Patterson,

3B - Solomon

HR - Houim, Spencer

Havre 11, Tri-County 2

Tri-County Cardinals 100 100 0 - 2 7 2

Havre Northstars 001 091 x - 11 16 2

Oien (5), Styren and Pyette; Cory Junck and Patch Wirtzberger.

WP - Junck; LP - Oien.

CARDINALS HITTING - J. Pyette 1-4, Styren 1-2, Smith 2-3, Gordon 0-3, Rosenberger 0-2, Christians 0-3, Brown 2-3, C. Pyette 1-3, Englehardt 0-3.

NORTHSTARS HITTING - Daine Solomon 2-4 (2 RBI), Patch Wirtzberger 2-4 (2 RBI), Ian Spencer 0-4, Trent Normandy 3-4 (RBI), Jordon Patterson 1-3 (RBI), Ben Erickson 1-3 (RBI), Bret Magelssen 1-4, Chase Castloo 4-4 (RBI), Eric Fanning 2-4 (RBI).

2B - Normandy, Magelssen, Patterson, Castloo

3B - Normandy, Castloo

HR - none

Havre 7, Great Falls 5

Great Falls Sparkies 010 030 1 - 5 6 3

Havre Northstars 000 070 x - 7 12 2

Fayden (4), Bloomfield and Jacobsen; Brandon Morse and Ricky Houim.

WP - Morse; LP - Bloomfield.

SPARKIES HITTING - Fayden 0-4, Tucker 1-4, Semenza 1-4, Stubbs 1-4, Jacobson 0-1, Meierhoff 0-2, Wassman 0-1, D. Dobson 2-3, Haman 0-2, C. Dobson 1-3, Bloomfield 0-0.

NORTHSTARS HITTING - Daine Solomon 4-4, Patch Wirtzberger 1-4 (2 RBI), Ian Spencer 1-4 (RBI), Trent Normandy 1-3 (RBI), Jordon Patterson 2-3 (RBI), Cory Junck 0-3, Tony Christian 2-3 (RBI), Ricky Houim 0-1, Chase Castloo 0-2, Ben Erickson 1-3 (RBI).

2B - Solomon 2, Normandy, Spencer, Christian, Patterson

3B - Solomon

HR - none

Havre 15, Great Falls 5

Great Falls Sparkies 302 00 0 - 5 7 2

Havre Northstars 300 264 - 15 15 2

Meierhoff (3), Semenza (1), Tucker (1), Hagan and Patterson; Bret Magelssen (2), Ian Spencer (4) and Ricky Houim.

WP - Spencer; LP - Semenza.

SPARKIES HITTING - Fayden 0-2, Meierhoff 0-2, Stubbs 1-3, Patterson 1-3, Beecroft 1-2, Wassman 1-2, Hagan 0-2, Haman 1-3, Crisman 2-3.

NORTHSTARS HITTING - Daine Solomon 4-5 (6 RBI), Patch Wirtzberger 2-3 (2 RBI), Ian Spencer 2-5 (RBI), Trent Normandy 1-2 (RBI), Jordon Patterson 0-1, Ben Erickson 3-4 (3 RBI), Cory Junck 1-3, Eric Fanning 0-2, Ricky Houim 1-4, Jeff Tibbals 1-1.

2B - Tibbals

3B - Solomon 2

HR - none