North Stars come up short against Northern District rivals

There aren’t many things that are more American than baseball, so when it came to celebrating the Fourth of July, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team did it with four games at Legion Field.

In the days leading up the holiday, Havre hosted a pair of Canadian teams out of the Northern A District for doubleheaders. The North Stars took on Lethbridge Saturday at Legion Field to start the weekend and earned a split, dropping the first game 5-4 and winning the second 5-0. Then, the North Stars finished up the weekend by losing back-to-back games to the Vauxhall Spurs by the scores of 22-5 and 18-12.

“It was a little disappointing to only win one, especially because we should have won both games against Lethbridge,” North Stars head coach Dick Fuzesy said. “We always seem to give up a big inning or two and that’s what ends up costing us.”

For much of the first game against Lethbridge, it did look like Havre would roll to the victory. The North Stars scored two runs each in the bottom of the first and got two more in the bottom of the fourth to build a 4-0 lead.

At that point, Brenden Danielson had been able to keep the Miners offense at bay. Yet, he allowed three runs in the top of the fifth, which got Lethbridge within one at 4-3. Jerod Boles came in to finish the game off, but the Miners managed two more runs in the sixth and held on for the 5-4 victory.

Boles was stuck with the loss after giving up two runs in two innings of work. Offensively, the North Stars were spurned on by Jeff Miller and Brenden Garden, who each had a hit and an RBI in the loss. Jake Sedahl also had two hits; Kennedy McKay had one.

In need of a win, the North Stars sent Dylan Carpenter to the mound for the second part of the doubleheader. And like he has many times in his career, he delivered a gem.

Carpenter tossed seven shutout innings to earn the victory and did so with control. He issued zero walks in the win and while he only struck out two, he gave up just three innings in the complete-game victory.

While Carpenter was starring on the mound, Jeff Miller did the same at plate. After an RBI single in the fifth inning to the make the score 2-0, Miller put the game on ice in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a three-run triple that put Havre in front 5-0.

Miller ended the game 2-for-4. Brendan Garden also went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the win for Havre. Danielson, Carpenter, Kennedy McKay and Ethan Roberts all added one hit a piece.

“Dylan pitched a great game,” Fuzesy said. “That’s what we needed and we got it. Jeff also had a great night and came up with some really big hits for us.”

After splitting with Lethbridge, Havre took on Vauxhall, a team that came into the weekend tied with Lethbridge for the most wins in the district at 11. Yet in this doubleheader, the Spurs proved superior and won both games with relative ease.

The first game will long be remembered by anyone in attendance as they day Vance Fode blasted four home runs. Fode added seven RBIs in a 4-of-5 effort that helped the Spurs rack up five homers and 22 total runs. McKay got the loss on the mound for Havre.

Miller managed two hits in the win to lead the North Stars. Danielson, Carpenter, Roberts and Trey Murphy added one.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the Spurs’ offense once again exploded for 18 runs on 19 hits, including 11 runs in the top of the fourth. Havre managed 12 runs on 13 hits of its own, but after falling behind 18-6, the deficit was too much to overcome.

Gavin Mosbrucker got the loss for Havre after pitching three and a third innings. He struck out one batter and walked eight. Danielson had a big day at the plate for Havre, belting two doubles and coming away with a total of four RBIs. Miller continued his hot streak at the plate, going 3-of-4 with an RBI, while Murphy, McKay and Boles all managed two hits.

Following their four games Saturday and Sunday at Legion Field, Havre took to the road Tuesday and traveled to Fort MacLeod, to take on the Royals. In search of a much-needed split, the North Stars were denied, as the Royals won a pair of close games by the scores of 6-4 and 15-14. The North Stars are now 12-22 on the season.

Havre will be back in action today in a doubleheader against the Lethbridge Miners in Lethbridge. The North Stars will return home to host the Lewistown Redbirds on Friday night.

Lethbridge 5, Havre 4

Lethbridge 000 032 0 - 5 6 1

Havre 200 200 0 - 4 7 2

Havre Batting - Jerod Boles 0-4, Dyland Carpenter 0-4, Jake Sedahl 2-4, Jeff Miller 2-4, Brenden Garden 1-3, Trey Murphy 0-3, Kennedy McKay 1-2, Gavin Mosbruker 0-2, Ethan Roberts 0-3.

Havre 5, Lethbridge 0

Lethbridge 000 000 0 - 0 3 3

Havre 000 023 x - 5 8 3

Havre Batting - Brenden Danielson 1-4, Dylan Carpenter 1-3, Jake Sedahl 0-2, Jeff Miller 2-4, Brenden Garden 2-4, Gavin Mosbruker 0-2, Kennedy McKay 1-3, Jerod Boles 0-3, Ethan Roberts 1-3.

Vauxhall 22, Havre 5

Vauxhall 251 12 12 - 22 20 1

Havre 102 20 - 5 6 3

Havre Batting - Brenden Danielson 1-3, Dylan Carpenter 1-3, Jake Sedahl 0-2, Jeff Miller 2-3, Brenden Garden 0-3, Trey Murphy 1-3, Gavin Mosbruker 0-1, Tony Antley 0-1, Jerod Boles 0-2, Ethan Roberts 1-3.

Vauxhall 18, Havre 12

Vauxhall 213 1101 0 - 18 19 4

Havre 042 050 1 - 12 13 4

Havre Batting - Brenden Danielson 2-5, Dylan Carpenter 0-5, Jake Sedahl 1-4, Jeff Miller 3-4, Brenden Garden 1-2, Tony Antley 0-1, Trey Murphy 2-4, Kennedy McKay 2-4, Jerod Boles 2-2, Ethan Roberts 1-4.