North Stars get out the brooms at home

Returning to conference play, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball club knew they needed strong pitching. And they got two solid outings in a twilight doubleheader Thursday night at Legion Field.

But when the North Stars needed them most, they got some monster hits, too.

On the strong arms of Jeff Miller and Tyrell Pierce, Havre swept the Tri-County Cardinals in a Northern A District doubleheader Thursday at Legion Field. The North Stars shut out the Cardinals 3-0 in game one, then took the nightcap 5-2.

Miller was sensational in the opener, giving up no runs while allowing a scattering of just seven hits. He also didn’t walk any batters, while striking out four. Pierce followed that performance up with a stellar one of his own. Pierce allowed just two runs on just five hits and struck out six in the complete-game win.

And while Havre head coach Danny Wirtzberger was thrilled with his two starting pitchers, he also saw a lot of other things he liked in Thursday night’s double-dip, which left Havre at 4-2 in conference play and 9-8 overall.

“Both our pitchers were fantastic tonight,” Wirtzberger said. “They came back, both of them on short rest and each threw a full seven innings. That was outstanding and really nice to see. And they really threw well. They threw a lot of strikes. We didn’t have many walks and they got outs. Each of them threw strong games for us and that’s what we need.

“Our defense was good behind them too,” Wirtzberger continued. “Tyrell (Pierce) played awesome defense on the pitcher’s mound, Ryne Antley made all kinds of big plays out in center field, and in the second game, Jeff (Miller) played an awesome shortstop. But I think the biggest difference tonight was the clutch hits. Tri-County threw two really strong pitchers at us, and they were coming off of a really good performance at our tournament last weekend. And their pitchers threw great games against us tonight. But the difference was, we got some really clutch hits when we needed them, and they didn’t. Our guys came up with some huge hits tonight.”

No hits were more clutch than those of catcher Jake Sedahl and Ryne Antley in game two. With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Gavin Gunderson led off the frame with a big double. And after Miller walked, the North Stars were in business with one out. That’s when Sedahl smacked a shot to center field and drove in Gunderson for what turned out to be the game-winning RBI. But for good measure, Antley came up next and drilled a shot to the left-center gap, plating Miller and Sedahl, and giving Pierce some insurance in the top of the seventh.

“Gavin got us started in that inning, and both Jake Sedahl and Ryne Antley came up and delivered for us. Jake has really started to hit the ball hard the last six games. Things are really coming along for him right now. His RBI was huge, and Ryne’s two RBI’s kind of made the seventh inning a little less intense for us. So that was really nice to see those kids come up and deliver in the clutch.”

Game two Tri-County starter Tanner Coen pitched strong, too, but he was saddled with a tough loss. Coen surrendered just seven hits, and was in good shape after holding an early North Star rally to just two runs early. One run came when Sedahl, who went 3-for-3, drove in Spencer Ross in second inning, and the other when Travis Roth singled, made it all the way to third and was driven in by Gunderson on a sacrifice fly in the third. Tri-County pulled even however when the Cardinals broke out three hits and two runs in the fifth, and that set up Havre’s sixth-inning, game-winning dramatics.

The North Stars were led at the plate by Sedahl’s strong outing, while Antley, Roth, Ross and Gunderson each had hits as well.

The first game of the twin bill didn’t require any late-game Havre heroics at the plate.

Miller was in cruise control on the mound, while the North Star defense recorded out after out. Havre sent Tri-County three-up-and-three-down in both the second and third inning, while Roth turned a 4-3 double play to end the fourth and Antley made a sensational catch in center to turn the Cardinals away in fifth. In all, Tri-County only saw two runners reach scoring position on the night as Miller and the North Star defense was strong throughout.

Havre was a little more quiet at the plate in game one, thanks in large part to a strong pitching performance from Tri-County’s Kyle Schmit. But the North Stars did enough damage on offense to preserve Miller’s shutout performance.

David Denny drove in Gunderson and later came around to score, giving Havre a 2-0 lead after one inning. From there, the North Stars were held in check for most of the game, but they did tack on an insurance run in the fifth. Pierce and Denny both singled, and eventually, Chris Vukasin would drive in Pierce for the final run of the contest.

Denny paced the North Stars by going 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Roth, Pierce and Vukasin added hits. The Cardinals wereled in the first game by Kyle Wanner and Ryan Clarke, who both went 2-for-3.

“These are good wins for us,” Wirtzberger said. “Tri-County has improved so much. I know they’ve finished last in our league the last two years, but they won’t finish last this season. They are playing well, so these are two big games for us to win at home.”

Havre will now have the weekend off before heading out on the road all next week. The North Stars have a rematch with the Cardinals Tuesday in Conrad, then take on the Great Falls Electrics Wednesday in Great Falls. Next weekend, Havre plays at the Deer Lodge Tournament. The North Stars return to Legion Field June 23-24 to host the Missoula Prospects.

North Stars 3, Tri-County 0

Tri-County 000 000 0 – 0 7 3

Havre 200 001 X – 3 4 1

WP – Jeff Miller, LP – Kyle Schmit

Tri-County – Kyle Schmit 1-3, Tanner Coen 0-4, Kyle Wanner 2-3, Cooper Hawke 1-3, Seth Kitchin 1-3, Ryan Clarke 2-3, Trey Stone 1-3, Tanner Mayer 0-2, James Konen 0-2.

Havre – Travis Roth 1-4, Gavin Gunderson 0-2, Tyrell Pierce 1-3, David Denny 2-3 (RBI), Ryne Antley 0-2, Chris Vukasin 1-3 (RBI), Chance Pitkanen 0-3, Jake Sedahl 0-3, Spencer Ross 0-0.

North Stars 5, Tri-County 2

Tri-County 000 020 0 – 2 5 2

Havre 011 003 X – 5 7 1

WP – Tyrell Pierce, LP – Tanner Coen

Tri-County – Kyle Schmit 0-3, Tanner Coen 1-3, Kyle Wanner 1-3, Cooper Hawke 0-3, Seth Kitchin 1-3, Tanner Mayer 1-3, Trevor VandenBos 1-3, Mason Murrey 0-1, Ryan Clarke 0-2, Tanner Stone 0-1, James Konen 0-1, Clark Judisch 0-1.

Havre – Travis Roth 1-3, Gavin Gunderson 1-3 (RBI), David Denny 0-3, Spencer Ross 1-3, Jeff Miller 0-2, Jake Sedahl 3-3 (2 RBI), Ryne Antley 1-3 (2 RBI), Dylan Carpenter 0-3, Chris Vukasin 0-2.