Havre All-Stars fall short at state

For four days, Legion Field was home to the 13-and-under Babe Ruth state tournament as seven teams from across Montana came to Havre to compete for the state championship and two spots in the Pacific Northwest Regionals.

After an impressive 13-3 victory over Miles City Thursday night, the Havre team lost its next two games and was eliminated from the tournament after a 14-4 defeat at the hands of Belgrade Friday night.

After their opening victory, Havre advanced to take on Glacier Friday afternoon in its second game and lost to the eventual champion by the score of 14-2.

Havre got off to a quick start against Glacier when Ethan Roberts belted a leadoff triple and scored on an RBI double by Brendon Garden to give Havre a 1-0 lead.

In response, Glacier unleashed an 11-run second inning that put the game out of reach. In all, Glacier had 16 runs on 17 hits, while Havre managed two runs on only five hits.

Following the loss to Glacier, Havre faced Belgrade in an elimination game and despite the ten-run loss, Roberts once again got Havre off to a good start with a leadoff triple, then Garden reached base after being hit by a pitch and both scored on a two-run double by James Christensen.

However, Havre’s 2-0 advantage was short-lived as Belgrade scored nine runs in the bottom half of the first inning, then added two more runs in the second to grab a commanding 11-3 lead. By the end of the fourth it was 14-4 that would go on to be the final score.

Havre got its lone win of the tournament Thursday with a ten-run route over Miles City. Roberts and Christensen each led the way with three hits and an RBI each. Garden had another strong showing with two hits and two RBI’s. Kelden Sullivan also added a pair of hits and two RBIs as did Taylor Gopher, who knocked in two runs with a triple.

Glacier won the tournament and ended up winning four straight games to do so. Three of those wins came over Kalispell, including a 14-4 victory in the championship game Sunday.

Glacier and Kalispell will head to the regional tournament. Hi-Line finished third despite winning three games compared to just two for Kalispell.