North Stars pick up a split in Helena

With rain storms pounding Havre all day long on Tuesday, the Havre American Legion baseball time got out of town just in time to play a doubleheader.

On Tuesday in Helena, the North Stars split a nonconference doubleheader with the Helena Reps. The North Stars captured game one 6-5 but fell to the Reps 6-2 in the second outing.

Havre rode an outstanding pitching performance from Brandon Smith in the first game. Smith went seven full innings, giving up just four hits and striking out six on his way to the completegame win. Smith also helped his own cause in the first inning by driving in a run to put Havre up 1-0.

The North Stars got on the board again in the third inning when Kyle Miller blasted a solo homerun, his fifth homer of the season.

Still, the North Stars found themselves down 5-2 heading into the seventh inning. But despite some cold hitting, the North Stars found a way to rally at the plate, scoring four runs in the seventh to pull out the victory.

CJ Evans led off with a triple, followed by an RBI single by Miller, and a two-RBI double by Mark Vukasin, then a go-ahead RBI single by Adam Briese.

"I was very pleased with how we hung in there again to come back to win the ball game," Havre head coach Steve Fanning said. " It seems like we've had to do this too often this year, but you have to give them credit for coming through in the clutch like that."

Miller had another big game for the North Stars going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Vukasin also delivered, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Briese was 2-for-4, Evans was 1-for-4 with a triple, Smith was 1-for-3, as was Justin Denny and Kolby Sukut.

The second game Tuesday was much like the first. Havre got a great pitching performance yet again, but fell behind, only the North Stars didn't mount a late-game charge in game two.

Evans went the distance for the North Stars, scattering just five hits.

But Havre's offense managed six hits on the day. The North Stars again went up 1-0 on a Miller triple which plated Evans. But Helena came back to score four runs in the second inning and the Reps led 6-1 by the fifth. The North Stars scratched out a run in the seventh, but that was as close as they would get.

"We only put together six hits in this game, that's not enough against that quality of a pitcher," Fanning said. "We also struggled defensively again, which ended up costing us. Until we play every facet of the game we are going to continue to be an average ball club."

Evans led the North Stars at the plate with a 2-for-4 outing. Miller was 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Smith, Vukasin and Denny each went 1-for-3.

The road split put the North Stars at 19-17 on the season. They will be back on the road Friday through Sunday at a tournament in Glendive. Havre's next home games will be Tuesday against Medicine Hat.