North Stars split with Knights in Canada

After splitting a pair of games with the Great Falls Electrics last Saturday, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team traveled up north to play two against a conference foe north of the border.

Havre took on the Medicine Hat Knights Sunday and much like Saturday, split a doubleheader against their Northern A rival. The Knights captured the first by the score of 8-5 before the North Stars rebounded to salvage a win thanks to a 15-8 victory.

In the opening game of the doubleheader, the North Stars sent ace pitcher Tyrell Pierce to the mound, but clearly he was without his best stuff as he surrendered six runs on five hits in just over five innings of work.

Trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth and by as many as seven when the score was 8-1 in the sixth, the North Stars rallied to trim the lead with a four-run seventh inning, getting hits from Jake Sedhal, who doubled and notched an RBI. Havre added three more runs to make the score 8-5, but that’s as close as it would get.

Pierce was hit with the loss for the North Stars after pitching five solid innings. Sedhal had a stellar day in the batter’s box going 3-for-4 with a double, while Brenden Danielson hit a solo home run in the loss.

Despite their loss in game one, the North Stars came out swinging in game two and, thanks to 17 hits, they crushed the Knights to improve to 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in District play.

The game was relatively close throughout until the top of the seventh inning, when the North Stars, who led 8-5, plated seven runs to put the win on ice. The Knights scored three runs combined in the sixth and seven innings but it was too little too late and the North Stars held on for the easy win.

Ryne Antley had a huge day in the win for Havre, going 4-or-5 at the plate, with a double, two runs batted in and three runs scored. Sedhal also posted another three hit game, finishing 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Others who contributed at the plate for Havre included T.J. Lovenguth, who had three hits, Trey Murphy, who had two hits and Dylan Carpenter, who finished with two hits in the win.

“We would have liked to win both games against both teams,” North Stars head coach Dick Fuzesy said. “We just missed some opportunities, but on the road and early in the season, there is nothing wrong with a split.”

Jeff Miller earned the win on the mound for Havre as he put together a solid performance that limited the Knights to four runs on eight hits in just over four innings. Carpenter came in and finished the job, holding Medicine Hat to a pair of runs in two innings.

The wins put the North Stars in a positive position to start the season and they will be back in action this week when they host the North Star Jamboree at Legion Field from Thursday through Sunday.

Havre 15, Medicine Hat 8

Havre 131 037 0 – 15 17 2

Medicine Hat 102 111 2 – 8 13 5

Havre – Brenden Danielson 0-4, Jerod Boles 1-1, Trey Murphy 2-4, Dylan Carpenter 2-5, Ryne Antley 4-5, Jeff Miller 0-1, T.J. Lovenguth 3-5, Tyrell Pierce 1-5, Cole Keller 0-1, Travis Roth 1-5, Jake Sedhal 3-5, Trey Hanson 0-4.

Medicine Hat 8, Havre 5

Havre 000 010 4 – 5 9 0

Medicine Hat 200 402 x – 8 7 0

Havre – Travis Roth 0-3, T. J. Lovenguth 0-3, Kyle Gooch 1-1, Jake Sedhal 3-4, Ryne Antley 2-3, Jeff Miller 1-4, Jerod Boles 0-3, Dylan Carpenter 0-3. Brenden Danielson 2-3, Trey Murhpy-0-2. Trey Hanson 0-2.