Babe Ruth All-Stars finish an impressive run

Havre Babe Ruth baseball has come and gone already this summer, and now, so has the short All-Star season.

The 14/15 year old Babe Ruth All-Star team found a lot of success this summer. But their post season run came to a surprising halt when they went 0-2 at the state tournament in Kalispell. In game one of the tournament, Kalispell defeated Havre 10-0. And in their second game of the weekend, Northern defeated Havre 13-6 to end the tournament and season.

Havre had met Kalispell and Northern prior to state, and had limited success. Northern swept Havre in four games, while Havre went 1-1 against Kalispell at the Firecracker tournament in Kalispell just weeks before. Havre defeated Kalispell 9-4, but then lost to Kalispell in the chipper 9-4.

And it is fair to say that Havre had its fair share of ups and downs. To start the All-Star season, the young and talented Havre squad went 10-0 in their first 10 contests. They even recorded an impressive tournament win at the Belgrade Wood Bat tournament. Havre went 6-0, including a win in the chipper.

But as fast as Havre heated up, unfortunately they cooled down almost just as fast.

After the impressive 10-0 start, Havre ended their season by going 0-7 in to the state tournament. Two of those losses came against Glasgow at Legion Field just prior to the tourney, losing 6-2 and 16-6. Early in the summer, Havre was doing everything right. Their defense was playing almost mistake free, and the pitching was backed by timely at bats. But as the summer drew on, the Havre squad started to struggle. They ran into teams with top tier pitchers, but also saw their offensive production slow way down. Errors were also a factor late, after being absent from their paly early on.

But looking ahead, the Havre All-Stars should have a solid core returning next year, hopefully to build on the glimpses of success they found this year. On a squad of 14, only five will move on from age, while another will be moving. If all eight eligible players return next season, the Havre All-Stars should have a solid core to build around.

The Havre 15-year-old Babe Ruth All-Star team poses for a photo after winning a wood bat tournament last month in Belgrade. The team competed in the state tournament last weekend.