Babe Ruth stars head to state

Last weekend, the Havre 15-year-old Babe Ruth all stars turned in a 1-3 record. But with one last weekend left in the season, Havre is looking to turn in a much better weekend at the state tournament.

Saturday, Great Falls beat Havre 9-3, but Havre turned around to defeat Helena 11-10. And Sunday, Helena defeated Havre 13-3, before Northern defeated Havre 4-3. Havre finished 1-3 on the weekend, but will need to overcome the losses very quickly. Wednesday, the Havre All Stars will travel to Columbia Falls for the 15-year-old state tournament.

In the loss to Great Falls, Havre struggled to get any momentum in the ballgame. Charlie Christianson and Jase Stokes both had two hits each, while Jeff Miller and Jake Sedahl each had one hit. And in Sunday’s loss to Helena, Havre just couldn’t shut down the offense. Helena used one big inning to take care of Havre with a 10 run deficit. TC Flesche and Dylan Carpenter each had two hits, while Jerod Boles had one hit.

The loss to Northern was tough because it was a loss, but Havre put up a good fight. Jake Sedahl pitched five innings, and gave up just the four runs. But four was just enough to edge out Havre, as Havre couldn’t score after being tied at 3-3 through three innings. Carpenter led the offense, going 2-for-3 and scoring a run.

In the one win over the weekend, Havre did a little bit of everything right.

Helena led most of the game, including taking a 10-7 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. But Havre made a move, tying the game at 10-10 in the bottom of the frame. Havre’s defense allowed zero runs in top half of the seventh, while Sedahl was a hero for Havre in the bottom of the seventh. With the leadoff batter on, Sedahl hit a walk-off triple. Nate Korb had one hit, while Stokes was 2-for-2, and Miller was 2-for-4.

Moving forward, Havre knows it will need to play consistent to be successful this week in Columbia Falls.

The state tournament begins Wednesday, with the Havre facing Helena at 4 p.m. Going 1-1 verses Helena last weekend.

Northern is the only other team Havre has seen this season that will be present at state. But other top talent like Kalispell, Glacier, Mission Valley and Glasgow will also be in the state title hunt and should be favored for a top spot.

“If our kids keep their head in the game and play with the effort I know they have,” coach Matt Jensen said, “I think we can definitely surprise some people down there too.”

If Havre can get out of Wednesday with a win, they won’t play until Friday, facing either Glasgow, or the winner of the Glacier/Mission Valley matchup. If Havre loses, they will play the loser of the Bitterroot/Kalispell matchup.

The state tournament is a tough place to play, and Havre will emphasize playing well in all aspects of the game. Mistakes will prove to be costly for any team, so pitching, defense, and offense will be equally important.

Havre opens their state tournament Wednesday at 4 p.m. against Helena. The tournament runs through Sunday in Columbia Falls.