Regular season ends for North Stars

The Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team didn't have much to play for this past weekend, at least they didn't have much to gain in the Northern A district standings by beating Medicine Hat or Vauxhall.

Both Vauxhall and Medicine Hat were clear of Havre and Lethbridge in the top three, which meant no matter what happened, Lethbridge and the North Stars would finish fourth or fifth and play in the first round of this week's district tournament. But the North Stars wanted to end the season on a positive note, which almost didn't happen either.

Havre opened its final weekend of play Friday night at Legion Field against Vauxhall and was swept 10-0 and 16-7. Then the North Stars lost the opening game of their home doubleheader Saturday against Medicine Hat, 9-4. But with a five-game losing streak staring them in the face, the North Stars pulled out a 6-5 win in the second game versus the Knights, ending the season 21-23 overall and 15-13 in the district. They will face Lethbridge Thursday and enter the Northern A tournament as the No. 4 seed.

"Getting that last win was huge," North Stars head coach Dick Fuzesy said. "It just gives you a different feeling. That got us to 15-13 in the district and just gives us some momentum. It really didn't matter for the standings, but we didn't want to go out on a losing streak, so that was important."

However, even that final win came down to the final out.

The North Stars jumped out to an early lead in the second game of their doubleheader with Medicine Hat, getting Jake Sedahl across in the first inning to go up 1-0. But Havre quickly fell behind again as Medicine Hat scored three runs in the top of the second.

Errors plagued the North Stars in the 9-4 defeat in game one, but this time around, Medicine Hat had problems. Havre was hit twice by the pitcher, then drew two walks in the same inning. Putting runners on base, followed by throwing errors, allowed Havre to score three runs and grab a 4-3 lead in the third.

After a double play spearheaded by Kennedy McKay got the North Stars out of a jam in the fourth, they added to their lead in the bottom half of the inning as Ethan Roberts got an RBI single and later Sedahl doubled in a run to make it 6-3.

Tony Antley who started the game, was relieved after four innings, in which he allowed three runs and struck out four, eventually earning the win. He was relieved by Gavin Mosbrucker, who loaded the bases with two walks in the sixth, before escaping with just two runs scored.

Clinging to a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh, Mosbrucker walked two batters, putting the tying run and second and the winning run on first. But in the end, Mosbrucker got the final batter to pop out, preserving the win and giving him the save.

"I thought that last out was never going to come," Fuzesy said. "I was really glad when it did. We didn't really need the win, but at the same time, we did. It will give us a nice little confidence booster and now we know we have beaten all the other teams in the district. So that's nice to be able to say, too."

Sedahl led the way at the plate for Havre, going 2-for-3 with two RBI. Roberts also managed two hits, a walk, an RBI as well as three runs scored, while Mosbrucker also pitched in with two hits. Trey Murphy, McKay and Kelden Sullivan all got hits, as well.

In the first game of the double dip Saturday, Brendan Garden was on the mound for the North Stars and ended up pitching a complete game. He did allow nine runs, but surrendered just two through four innings. The score was 2-1, when the Knights scored three in the fifth, then two in the sixth and seventh innings to take the game 9-4.

The North Stars, who had three errors, managed 10 hits, with Sullivan and Mosbrucker each having two. Roberts, Sedahl, Brenden Danielson, Antley, Murphy and McKay all had one.

Before taking on Medicine Hat, Havre hosted Vauxhall Friday and in the first game between the two teams, the North Stars managed just one hit in a 10-0 defeat. McKay was on the mound and pitched all five innings for Havre, as the game was shortened due to the run rule. Caleb Allestad was the only Havre player to get a hit, although Roberts and Sullivan both reached base twice on walks.

In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the North Stars jumped out to a 2-1 lead, after scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. But the Spurs managed six runs and got Danielson, the starting pitcher for Havre, out of the game in the fourth inning. After Vauxhall scored six runs in the top of the seventh, it was 16-2. Havre scored five in the seventh to make the final 16-7, but had its rally stall in the last inning with runners on base.

Despite being outscored, the North Stars outhit Vauxhall with 13 compared to 11. The difference was that the North Stars were charged with eight errors. They also left nine on base, compared to six for the Spurs. Antley had a big night at the plate, with three hits and an RBI. McKay also had a hit and two RBIs, while Sedahl, Brady Ophus and Garden all contributed with two hits as well.

The North Stars are hosting the Northern A District tournament this season and will play their first game Thursday at 6 p.m, against Lethbridge.

Medicine Hat 9, Havre 4

Medicine Hat 110 032 2 - 9 13 2

Havre 010 021 0 - 4 10 3

LP - Brendan Garden

Havre batting - Kelden Sullivan 2-4, Ethan Roberts 1-3, Jake Sedahl 1-4, Brenden Danielson 1-3, Tony Antley 1-4, Trey Murphy 1-4, Gavin Mosbrucker 2-4, Cody Rennick 0-2, Kennedy McKay 1-2.

Havre 6, Medicine Hat 5

Medicine Hat 030 002 0 - 5 9 1

Havre 130 200 x - 6 9 1

WP - Tony Antley

Havre batting - Kelden Sullivan 1-4, Ethan Roberts 2-3, Jake Sedahl 2-3, Brenden Danielson 0-2, Kennedy McKay 1-4, Gavin Mosbrucker 2-3, Trey Murphy 1-3, Caleb Allestad 0-2, Brendan Garden 0-2.

Vauxhall 10, Havre 0

Vauxhall 015 40 - 10 11 0

Havre 000 00 - 0 1 4

LP - Kennedy McKay

Havre batting - Brendan Garden 0-2, Kelden Sullivan 0-1, Jake Sedahl 0-3, Brenden Danielson 0-1, Brady Ophus 0-1, Tony Antley 0-2, Gavin Mosbrucker 0-2, Caleb Allestad 1-2, Ethan Roberts 0-0.