North Stars play plenty of ball in North Dakota

After a busy week at home last week, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team went about as far from home as they possibly could for a big weekend of tournament baseball.

Thursday through Sunday, the North Stars took part in a big tournament in Williston, North Dakota, where Havre got to play in five games.

The North Stars started the tourney off with yet another dramatic win. Back on Tuesday, Havre swept Tri-County with a walk off victory at Legion Field. Thursday, the North Stars did it again, winning in the final inning against a team from Black Hills, South Dakota. Behind a great rally at the plate, and strong pitching from Brenden Danielson, the North Stars opened the tourneys with an 8-7 win.

From there, however, Havre had its hands full. Continuing on in pool play Friday, the North Stars fell to Williston 5-1, with Danielson taking the tough loss on the mound. Havre ended Friday with a 9-3 loss to the IP Prospects, with Brendan Garden the pitcher of record.

Havre moved into bracket play Saturday, where the North Stars were defeated by the SE Twins 10-2. Kennedy McKay got the loss for the North Stars, who moved on to the eighth-place game on Sunday.

There, Havre had a rematch with Black Hills, but this time it was the South Dakota squad which prevailed. Black Hills upended the North Stars 6-2, with Tony Antley getting the loss on the bump.

Still, Havre got a lot of good experience at Williston, and the North Stars will put that experience to good use this week. On Tuesday, Havre heads to Medicine Hat for a pair of non-conference games. Then, the North Stars will go to Whitefish for the prestigious Ed Gallo Memorial Wood Bat Tournament, which runs Thursday through Sunday.