Northstars win three in latest home stand

The Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team came into a weekend homestand against Great Falls and Lethbridge riding a four-game losing streak. The Northstars, according to their head coach Mickey Williams were close, they just needed some confidence.

Well, on the offensive end at least, nothing could boost their confidence more than back-to-back games with at least 14 runs, followed by a dramatic come-from-behind win.

And that is exactly what the Northstars delivered. They opened their weekend Saturday against the Great Falls Chargers in a Northern A doubleheader at Legion Field. Havre swept the two-game set, winning the first game 14-2, before holding on to win the second 15-12.

As exciting as that was for the Northstars, it was nothing compared to what the team did Sunday against Lethbridge. Looking to build on its two-game winning streak, Havre opened the first game of its double-dip against Lethbridge with five runs in the bottom of the first inning, continuing its hot streak at the plate from Saturday.

Yet, after its explosive first inning, Havre went cold at the plate and wouldn't score for seven more innings. In the meantime, Lethbridge chipped away at the lead, before tying things up in the top of the fifth inning. Eventually, the game went to extra innings and in the top of the eighth, the Miners scored four more runs, grabbing the lead for the first time and suddenly taking a 9-5 advantage into the bottom of the eighth inning.

Down to their final three outs and having gone six innings without a run, the situation looked desperate. But a base hit by Caleb Allestad and a walk drawn by Brenden Danielson got things started. Tyrel Kjersem then got a base knock to load the bases, which were then cleared by Jake Sedahl, who doubled in three runs to trim the deficit to 9-8. Gavin Mosbrucker, who started the game on the mound, came through with a single, tying the score at 9-9.

Kennedy McKay, the next batter, laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced Mosbrucker over to second and in the next at-bat, Brendan Garden ended the game with a walk-off double to right, giving the Northstars a 10-9 victory. Ethan Roberts, who came on in relief, got the win.

"They did a great job of fighting back," Mickey Williams said of his team after it rallied from four runs down to beat Lethbridge. "We got down and the pressure wasn't on them anymore. Then they just hit."

In the second game, Havre again fell behind 3-0, before rallying to grab a 5-3 advantage in the bottom of the third inning. Yet, in the fourth, Lethbridge scored three times and grabbed a one-run lead, one it would hold until the bottom of the sixth inning. That's when Garden, McKay and Mosbrucker came through in the clutch again.

First, Garden singled to get on base. After advancing to second, McKay hit what appeared to be an out. But a wild throw got him to first safely, while also allowing Garden to score after some heads up baserunning. That tied the score at 6-6. With McKay on third, Mosbrucker roped a single to the outfield, giving the Northstars a 7-6 advantage.

Antley, who started the game, attempted to finish off a complete-game victory but he couldn't record the final three outs before the Miners tied the game at 7-7. Then, in the top of the ninth, the Miners got the lead by scoring two runs off Danielson to take a 9-7 lead. Havre tried to make another comeback in the bottom half of the ninth but it fell short. The Northstars are now 18-16-1 overall on the season and 11-9 in the district.

"I would have like to have won all four games," Williams said. "But winning three of four is pretty good. That at least keeps us in the hunt. But we would have liked to have gotten all four. I thought that we were going to. We just couldn't quite finish it."

Before splitting with Lethbridge, Havre swept Great Falls Saturday. In the first game, the Northstars plated six runs in the bottom of the first, followed by three in the second, two in the third and three in the fourth. Kjersem was on the mound and got the win after holding Great Falls to two hits on four runs in five innings of work. At the plate, Tony Antley led the way, going 4-for-4. He also finished with two RBIs. Garden also stood out with three hits and three RBIs. Quinn Reno also pitched in with three hits, while Ethan Roberts and Mosbrucker each had two. Sedahl also had a hit and two RBIs.

In the second game, the Northstars also got off to a fast start, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first again, which led to a 7-0 advantage after three innings. Great Falls rallied, scoring seven in the fourth and fifth innings to get within one run at 8-7. But, two runs in the bottom of the fifth and five more in the bottom of the sixth helped the Northstars hang on, despite allowing five runs to the Chargers in the top of the seventh.

Antley added four more hits in the win for Havre, his second straight game with at least four as he was 4-for-5. Sedahl added four hits and two RBIs; Roberts added three hits and two RBIs of his own. McKay, Garden and Murphy all added two hits apiece, with Garden and McKay each finishing with two RBIs as well. Havre finished the second game against Great Falls with 19 hits, giving the Northstars 36 hits in two games after they notched 17 in game one.

The Northstars will be back in action Tuesday with a road doubleheader against Fort Mac-Leod. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.