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Mickey Williams has always been a fan of small ball, and after his Havre Northstars swept Medicine Hat Sunday using many of his patented techniques, his players might just be coming around to his line of thinking.
Following a split with the Fort MacLeod Royals Saturday night at Legion, with the Northstars dropping a game 13-6, before winning the second 8-2, Havre turned around and got two wins over Medicine Hat Sunday as the Northstars completed a four-game homestand with wins by the scores of 5-4 and 10-0.
"They are starting to come around to it," Williams, the head coach of the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team said. "I know that I am not going to change. Teams know what we are going to do, but if you make the right plays, runs will come."
Trailing Medicine Hat 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Northstars used some classic Williams tactics to spark a comeback. After two runners got on, Jake Sedahl scored a run on a sac fly to the outfield. That got Havre within one at 4-3. Ethan Roberts tied the game with a base hit. Then, Roberts stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. Austin Delarosa came through with another sacrifice fly and that sealed Havre's come-from-behind win.
In addition to driving in the winning run, Delarosa also got the win on the mound. Bridger Staples pitched the first five innings as the starter and allowed four runs on six hits. However, Delarosa took over in the fifth and pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. Brenden Danielson had a big game at the plate, going 3-for-4. Roberts had two hits and two runs batted in, while Delarosa also finished with two hits and the game-winning RBI.
"I was really proud of how they kept fighting," Williams said. "We put the ball in play, moved over some runners and did enough to pull it out. Hopefully, that will give us some confidence; that's what these kids need."
In the second game against Medicine Hat, Tony Antley took the ball and tossed five shutout innings in a complete-game victory. He also got some help. Delarosa singled in two runs in the bottom of the third inning, putting the Northstars up 3-0. Two more runs in the fourth made it 5-0, setting the stage for a five-run fifth inning that ended the game due to the 10-run rule. Kennedy McKay doubled in two runs to make it 9-0 and Sedahl singled McKay in to end the game.
Antley allowed just five hits in five innings of work. He also struck out two and notched two hits, as well as an RBI. Sedahl and Delarosa also had two hits and three RBI each. The other hit in the win came from Tyrel Kjersem.
The Northstars opened their weekend of district doubleheaders Saturday night against Fort MacLeod and in the first game, Havre came undone with errors as it was scored with eight in a 13-6 loss. The worst stretch came in the top of the second inning, with the score, tied 1-1. Thanks to a slew of Northstars errors, the Royals kept the inning going and got six runs out of it. They later added three in the top of the fourth, before Trey Murphy cut the deficit to 10-4 in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to a two-run double.
Ultimately, the Northstars outhit the Royals 10-9, but it wasn't enough to overcome eight errors. Danielson was hit with the loss after giving up 12 runs on nine hits in over five innings of work. He also walked two batters and hit four more in addition to a pair of strikeouts. Sedahl, Roberts, Gavin Mosbrucker and Delarosa all led the way with two hits each. Murphy added two RBIs, while Quinn Reno, Antley and Mosbrucker all added one.
In the second game of the evening doubleheader, McKay took the hill and tossed a gem for the Northstars as he held the Royals to a pair of runs while striking out nine in over five innings of work. McKay also helped himself at the plate, getting two hits and scoring a run. Sedahl also added a hit and an RBI, as did Mosbrucker. Antley also added two hits and an RBI and in the bottom of the sixth inning, Havre found itself in front 6-2.
Wanting some insurance runs, Danielson came up with two outs and right after a pitching change by Fort MacLeod, Danielson ripped the first pitch he saw out of the park. It was his first home run of the season and helped Havre add two runs in the sixth, which led to the final score being 8-2. Roberts came in to finish the game and after giving up a hit in the sixth, retired the side in the top of the seventh to wrap up the win.
After registering eight errors in the first game of the homestand, Havre had just one in the next three games and as a result, allowed just six runs. The effort by the pitching and defense is what allowed the Northstars to close the weekend on a three-game win streak.
"I have always believed that you win with good pitching and solid defense," Williams said. "We are still giving away too many runs, but we are improving. They (the players) are working really hard and they have had good attitudes and I have appreciated that. We aren't where we want to be, I would have rather gotten the sweep but we are getting there."
The Northstars will host their Jamboree tournament starting Friday at Legion Field.
Fort MacLeod 13, Havre 6
FRTM 160 320 1 - 13 9 1
Havre 110 220 0 - 5 10 8
WP - S. Colby
LP - Brenden Danielson
Havre batting - Brenden Danielson 0-3, Quinn Reno 0-3, Jake Sedahl 2-4, Tony Antley 1-4, Ethan Roberts 2-4, Kennedy McKay 0-1, Trey Murphy 1-4, Gavin Mosbrucker 2-3, Austin Delarosa 2-3.
Havre 8, Fort MacLeod 2
FRTM - 000 002 0 - 2 5 7
Havre 230 012 x - 8 7 0
WP - Kennedy McKay
LP - Josh C
Havre batting - Brenden Danielson 1-3, Kennedy McKay 2-4, Jake Sedahl 1-4, Ethan Roberts 0-2, Tony Antley 2-4, Quinn Reno 0-2, Trey Murphy 0-2, Gavin Mosbrucker 1-2, Bridger Staples 0-3.
Havre 5, Medicine Hat 4
MH 200 020 0 - 4 6 0
Havre 010 010 3 - 5 11 1
WP - Austin Delarosa
LP - Whelen
Havre batting - Brenden Danielson 4-3, Kennedy McKay 1-4, Jake Sedahl 0-2, Ethan Roberts 2-4 Tony Antley 1-4, Austin Delarosa 2-3, Quinn Reno 0-1, Gavin Mosbrucker 1-3, Trey Murphy 1-3.
Havre 10, Medicine Hat 0
MH 000 00 - 0 5 2
Havre 003 25 - 10 7 0
WP - Tony Antley
Havre batting - Eli Cloninger 0-1, Garrett Parsons 0-0, Jacob Miller 0-1, Kennedy McKAy 1-3, Jake Sedahl 2-3, Ethan Roberts 0-2, Tony Antley 2-2, Austin Delarosa 2-2, Quinn Reno 0-2, Gavin Mosbrucker 0-2, Tyrell Kjersem 1-3.
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