North Stars are perfect on road trip

After losing three of four games and missing out on a chance to climb higher in the Northern A district standings, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team went to Canada for a four-game road as a team on mission.

That mission was winning games, which they achieved on back-to-back days, first with a sweep over the Fort Macleod Royals by the scores of 9-1 and 7-1. Then, on Wednesday, the North Stars made it four straight by sweeping Lethbridge by the scores of 4-2 and 9-5.

Coming into the four-game road trip, the North Stars were 15-17-1 overall and more importantly 9-7 in district play. Now, they sit in much better position with a district record of 13-7 and a total record of 19-17-1, which puts them over .500 for the first time all season.

In the first of two games Tuesday, the North Stars used a quick start with two runs in the top of the first inning to grab the lead and never relinquished it. The Royals did make things interesting with a run in the bottom of the second to make the score 2-1. And by the top of the fifth inning, the Royals were still hanging tough and trailed just 3-1, but just then the floodgates opened.

Havre, which hadn't mustered much offense up to that point got a leadoff single from Jake Sedahl, which set the stage for a two-run home run by Tyrell Pierce that put the North Stars up 5-1. The bomb was the third time Pierce has went yard in his last seven games and after tacking on three more runs in the inning, Havre led 8-1 and the game was virtually over.

In addition to his homer, Pierce had another hit in the game and finished with two RBI's. Sedahl went 3-for-5 and scored twice, while Travis Roth, Jerod Boles and Nic Tanner all contributed with RBIs. On the mound, it was Branden Danielson, who earned the win for the North Stars by tossing a complete game and giving up just six hits and one run while striking out four in seven innings pitched.

In the second game against the Royals, the North Stars found themselves in a battle through five innings, at which point the score was tied at 1-1 after Havre scored a run in the top of the fourth and Fort Macleod plated on in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score.

Yet, in the top of the sixth, the North Stars finally managed to put a big inning together, scoring five runs and taking a 6-1 lead. After reclaiming the lead, Havre starting pitcher Dylan Carpenter made it stick, holding Fort Macleod scoreless over the final two innings of play to cement the victory.

Carpenter earned the win for Havre, his sixth of the season, after giving up just five hits and one run, while striking out five in the complete game. Offensively, Pierce had another solid game, notching two hits and a double. Jeff Miller and Danielson also pitched in with two hits apiece. Gavin Gunderson and Roth also added RBIs.

After the sweep of the Royals, Havre made the trip to Lethbridge Wednesday and after falling behind 2-1 after the first inning, the North Stars battled back, taking the lead finally in the top of the fifth after an RBI single by Roth scored Gunderson to put them up 3-2.

The North Stars added another run in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead and put the game away in the bottom of the seventh when Carpenter came in to register the save. Carpenter pitched a scoreless seventh, but Boles got the win after giving up just two runs and six hits in six innings pitched.

Gunderson led the way for Havre offensively with two hits and an RBI. Roth and Sedahl also pitched in with a hit and an RBI each in the win.

After posting a win in the first game of the doubleheader, the North Stars were going for their second sweep in as many days, but the Miners had other ideas, scoring four runs in the first two innings to build a 4-1 lead.

Yet, after a sluggish start, the North Stars got their bats going, first by adding a run in the top of the third to make the score 4-2, then adding four more runs in the fourth thanks to back-to-back triples by Roth and Sedahl, which brought home three runs and put the North Stars ahead 6-4.

Lethbridge cut the lead down to one with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Havre bats came through in the clutch again as Pierce, Trey Murphy and Tanner Hentschel hit three consecutive RBI singles to extend the lead to 9-5 and put the game on ice.

Miller earned the win for the North Stars after throwing six solid innings and allowing five runs on nine hits. As a team, the North Stars finished with 15 hits three coming from Ryne Antley, while Gunderson, Roth, Pierce and Hentschel all finished with two.

With four straight wins, the North Stars are right back in the thick of the district race and will look to keep their winning ways going on Saturday when they will host the Great Falls Chargers for two games. The first pitch will be thrown at 5 p.m. The doubleheader against the Chargers will be the North Stars' final home games of the 2015 season.

Havre 9, Fort Macleod 1

Havre 201 051 0 - 9 12 0

Fort Macleod 010 000 0 - 1 6 7

Havre - Gavin Gunderson 1-5, Travis Roth 1-4, Jake Sedahl 3-5, Ryne Antley 1-5, Tyrell Pierce 2-3, Cole Keller 0-1, Jeff Miller 1-2, Dylan Carpenter 1-3, Tanner Hentschel 0-0, Kyle Gooch 1-3, Nic Tanner 1-1, Jerod Boles 0-3, Trey Murphy 0-1.