Havre stars taking a trip of a lifetime

The stage is set, and the U-12 Cal Ripken All-Stars are ready to play in the biggest regional baseball tournament a Havre youth team has seen in quite some time.

Thursday-Saturday, Eastern Montana (Havre) will be in Eugene, Ore., for the 2010 Cal Ripken 70-Foot NW Regional baseball tournament.

And joining Havre in the American Division will be Northern Washington (Bellingham), Idaho (Meridian) and the host, Willamette Valley.

Southern Oregon (Roseburg), Southern Washington (Black Hills), Northern Oregon (West Linn) and Western Montana (Helena) will make up the National Division and round out the eightteam tournament.

Havre will open up its tournament play with two games on Thursday. At 1 p.m. Havre will face Northern Washington, and at 6 p.m. Havre will face Idaho.

And on Friday, Havre will also face Willamette Valley at 1 p.m. Three teams from each division will advance to the semifinals. Second and third-place teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday, and first-place teams have a bye and will play at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

The championship game will be at 3

p. m. on Saturday.

"You just never know what's going to be thrown at you when you get there," Havre head coach Scott McIntosh said. "It's a great experience for these kids to go out there and do this, and it's hopefully something they are going to remember for the rest of their lives. It's going to be pretty fun." Scott Norby and Darren Hamilton also help make up the coaching staff, while the team is made up by Jase Stokes, Jake Norby, Jesse Dannels, Dane Warp, Charlie Christianson, Dylan Carpenter, TC Flesche, Travis Hamilton, TJ Lovenguth, Ian McIntosh, Jerod Boles, Jake Sedahl, Isaac Warp, Parker Filius and Robert Samson.

A trip like this one isn't an every year occurrence for local baseball players.

It's been five years since a local all-star team even attended a regional tournament such as this one. A Havre team made the trip to Kelso, Wash., for a Babe Ruth regional some years ago.

"Everybody is pretty jacked up to get out there and start playing," McIntosh said.

And though everybody is excited to get out there and play, preparation for a tournament such as this one is difficult.

Since the regular Cal Ripken season has ended Havre has been practicing three to four times a week for at least two hours. They are also playing as many practice games as possible, with opponents such as the Havre 13-yearold All-Star team and Montana West taking the opposing field.

All in all, the Havre stars were just looking to get as much repetition and game-like experiences under their belts as possible. They know to be successful this weekend they have to play sound, fundamental baseball and limit their mistakes.

"We have to play our best baseball and keep a smile on our face," McIntosh said. "That's all we can do. We have a very skilled team with a nice mix of younger and older kids. They are very coachable and have worked hard. Most kids decided they wanted the summer off and these kids decided to play baseball, it's a great commitment on their part." McIntosh considers his squad a very well rounded group. Havre doesn't necessarily have strengths and weakness, but more of a solid lineup that can do it all if playing well.

And what some may have seen as a disadvantage, hopefully won't effect Havre at all.

This is the first year Havre was in this division of Cal Ripken. The 70-foot division simply means the bases are at 70 feet and base runners can leadoff and steal. But moving up from 60-foot bases, Havre players have had all season to get used to the extra 10 feet.

"This is kind of new," McIntosh said. "Cal Ripken first implemented this in 2007, but it's the first year in this division for Havre. I don't see this as a disadvantage at all. Our kids have played with it all season and they adapted very well. We just kind of hit the ground running and we haven't really quit. We are just rolling with it." When the Havre stars are playing at their best they are very good. But they know to be successful they have to play at that high level all weekend long. They are up for the challenge, and heading into the tournament confidence levels are high.

"I think we are going to compete," McIntosh said. "I look to be in the semifinals on Friday night. I certainly expect to be in the semifinals with a chance to play for the championship, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't." Havre will open up their tournament play on Thursday at 1 p.m. when they will face Northern Washington.

Havre will also face Idaho at 6 p.m. on Thursday, and Willamette Valley at 1

p. m. on Friday.