North Stars split with powerful Reds

In recent years, the Glasgow Reds have proven they are one of the best American Legion baseball teams in the state. The Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team got the opportunity to match up with the Reds' A and B squads, and saw how talented the Reds' program is first hand.

Sunday at Legion Field in Havre, the North Stars hosted Glasgow for a non-conference doubleheader. And coming off of a home split with the Great Falls Electrics earlier in the week, the North Stars were able to muster up another split Sunday afternoon. Havre came from behind and captured the 8-7 win in game one over the Glasgow B squad. But in the nightcap, the Glasgow A lineup defeated the North Stars 13-1.

The North Stars are now 2-4 overall and remain 1-1 in the district standings.

"They (Reds) haven't completely split up the teams yet," North Stars head coach Danny Wirtzberger said. "But they have a pretty good idea of who is going to be on each team, and that first game was mostly their younger kids. But Glasgow has a fantastic program, they have gone to regionals two out of the last three years, they are coached very well, and have a lot of big kids.

"It was good to see out kids battle back in that first game after spotting Glasgow three runs." Wirtzberger added. "And believe it or not, I actually think we played better in the second game, and I thought our pitching was great in the second game."

But in the first-game win, the North Stars had to battle for all seven innings, as well as rely on a little baseball luck going in their favor.

After falling behind 6-2 through the top half of the fifth inning, the North Stars finally came alive in the bottom of the fifth with five runs on three hits. Gavin Gunderson and Ryne Antley started the inning with back-to-back singles, and both eventually scored on two wild pitches. And after a pitching change, it was Dylan Carpenter who drove in another run on a bases-loaded walk, followed by Tracis Roth's bases-loaded, two RBI double to give the North Stars a 7-6 lead, their first lead of the ball game.

Glasgow tied the game at 7-7 in the sixth, but that is when Havre got a little help from a chaotic situation. David Denny (single) and Tyrell Pierce (walk) were already on board when Spencer Ross followed with a single. But on the hit the three runners tried to earn an extra base as Denny rounded third thinking he could score on the play. Glasgow had a solid relay to get the ball back into the catcher, leaving all three runners in no mans land and trying to get back on base. Ross had to get all the way back to first base after sliding into second with Pierce just feet away. As Ross hustled back to first, even the Reds' catcher was caught off guard, rushing the throw to first and overthrowing the first baseman. The error resulted in Denny eventually scoring the game-winning run, as Havre took an 8-7 lead after the confusion.

The North Stars' defense turned an impressive double play in the top of the seventh to end the game and grab the win. Gunderson fielded the groundball at third and threw out the runner at first base as Jeff Miller fired right back to third to pick off a greedy base runner to end the game.

Chris Vukasin earned the win the mound, giving up just two hits and two earned runs. Vukasin also walked seven but struck out 14.

Offensively, the North Stars were led by Roth, Denny, and Ross with two hits each. Roth also had two RBIs, while Denny had one. Gunderson, Antley, and Pierce also had one hit each, while Pierce got on base with two walks, and had one RBI.

In the game-two loss to the Reds, the North Stars were really done in by one bad innings. After trailing 2-0 through three innings, the North Stars were still competitive as they trailed 3-1 through four. But as the Reds posted seven runs on Havre in the fifth inning, the game was put out of reach. Glasgow scored the seven runs on four hits and not North Star errors. The Reds also chased Gunderson from the mound in the fifth, as Carpenter pitched the rest of the contest for the North Stars.

Glasgow totaled the 13 runs on seven hits and three Havre errors. The North Stars scored one run on six hits and one Glasgow error. Roth led the Havre efforts with a 2-for-3 showing. Chance Pitkanen went 1-for-3, but had the only RBI for the North Stars.

Gunderson gave up seven runs, walked six, and struck out one while on the mound. Carpenter gave up four hits, one earned run, walked seven, and struck out two during his time on the mound.

Next up for the North Stars is a doubleheader with the Medicine Hat Knights June 1 at 1 p.m. at Legion Field in Havre.

Havre 8, Glasgow 7

Glasgow 300 031 0 – 7 2 2

Havre 002 051 x – 8 9 3

WP – Chris Vukasin; LP – Seifert

Glasgow – Blount 0-2, King 0-2, Fransen 0-2, Lagree 0-2, Mattfeldt 1-1, Provender 1-4 RBI, Breigenger 0-3 2RBIs, Lagree 0-2 RBI, Mcdonald 0-3, Hersom 0-2.

Havre – Travis Roth 2-4 2RBIs, Gavin Gunderson 1-2, Ryne Antley 1-4, David Denny 2-4 RBI, Tyrell Pierce 1-1 RBI, Spencer Ross 2-4, Chance Pitkanen 0-2, Mike Loftus 0-1, Jake Sedahl 0-3, Dylan Carpenter 0-2 RBI.

Glasgow 13, Havre 1

Glasgow 200 170 3 – 13 7 1

Havre 000 100 0 – 1 6 3

WP – Korsel; LP – Gavin Gunderson

Glasgow – Thibault 0-3, Korsel 2-4 2RBI, Krynmede 0-2 RBI, Kolated 1-2 2RBIs, Legare 1-4 RBI, Fossum 1-3 RBI, Page 1-4 2RBIs, Shultz 1-3 2RBIs, Padden 0-2 RBI.

Havre – Travis Roth 2-3, Gavin Gunderson 1-3, Tyrell Pierce 0-3, David Denny 1-2, Spencer Ross 1-2, Chance Pitkanen 1-3 RBI, Jake Sedahl 0-3, Chris Vukasin 0-2, Dan Miller 0-1, Mike Loftus 0-1, Dylan Carpenter 0-1.