Northstars earn key split

The Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team had a number of reasons to be motivated to beat Vauxhall last Saturday. But chief among them was the fact that it was senior day for six players who were playing their final games at Legion Field.

That proved to be the only motivation that the Northstars needed as they managed a split with first-place Vauxhall, taking the first game of the doubleheader 9-7, before dropping the second 7-5. Despite falling behind 5-0 in the second game, the Northstars rallied to tie things at 5-5, following a five-run sixth inning. The Spurs scored twice in the top of the seventh and held off Havre in the bottom half of the inning to wrap up the win.

Splitting the final home doubleheader of the season left the Northstars with a 13-11 mark in district play, as well as a 23-18 overall record heading into the Northern A District Tournament this week in Medicine Hat. Play will open Thursday and the Northstars will enter as either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

"I am really proud of these guys," Northstars head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "It was big for us to come out and get this win today. Not only does it put us in a pretty solid position heading into districts, now, we know mentally, we have beaten every team in our conference and that's huge heading into the tournament."

Indeed, it will be hard to write off the Northstars after the club has won at least two games against every team in the district except Vauxhall. Havre managed just one win against the Spurs, which came Saturday. Yet, it could easily have been two.

Early on, the opening game had the look of a one-sided affair as the Northstars burst out of the gates with seven runs in the top of the first inning. That offensive outburst was capped by senior Tony Antley, who blasted a two-run home run over the fence in his final game at Legion Field. By the time the Spurs got the third out in the first inning, Havre led 7-0.

"I feel like Tony has been knocking on the door for a while now," Wirtzberger said. "So it was good to see him be able to do that and lift his team up on senior day. It was just awesome. I thought that all of our seniors stepped up. They made plays, they hit the ball and the ones that pitched did a great job."

One of those was Austin Delarosa, who got the ball in the first game, which was also his final home series. While his outing was limited to only five innings because of a weather delay, Delarosa was outstanding, throwing five scoreless innings and limiting the Spurs to just one run on three hits. He also gave up just one walk.

Delarosa seemed to be on cruise control, however, after the delay in the fifth inning, Wirtzberger changed pitchers before Ethan Roberts was finally able to close things out. It did get interesting after four runs in the seventh for the Spurs but in the end, the Northstars hung on for the win.

Roberts who closed out the game, also managed two hits, a pair of stolen bases, two runs and an RBI. Trenton Maloughney, Kelden Sullivan, Eli Cloninger and Antley all had one hit. Antley managed two RBIs, while Maloughney, Sullivan and Cloninger all had one. Tyrel Kjersem also had two RBIs without a hit. Quinn Reno also contributed with a hit, a run and two walks.

"It was a complete game. That was a great effort," Wirtzberger said. "The delay kind of threw a wrench into things because I couldn't bring (Delarosa) back in after that. That's just not something I am going to do with one of my pitchers. But we did a good job of finishing the game. It was all the things you want to see."

In the second game, the Northstars needed a win to keep their hopes of finishing second in the district alive and after spotting the Spurs a 5-0 lead, Havre finally got things going in the bottom of the sixth. Senior Hunter Lovenguth delivered two-run single, which got the Northstars on the board. Then Antley scored after Reno drew a walk with the bases loaded, suddenly making the score 5-3 in favor of the Spurs. Delarosa was hit by a pitch, bringing another run across and then a wild pitch scored Roberts, tying the game at 5-5.

However, the Spurs answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and Havre wasn't able to muster another comeback. Kelden Sullivan, who came on in the sixth was given the loss. Antley, Lovenguth and McKay all got hits for Havre.

"I think we are playing really good baseball," Wirtzberger said. "I think our record is about what it should be. I think we are playing really well right now going into districts, and I think we are in a good position."

Vauxhall played at Lewistown Sunday to close out the regular season. Depending on the outcome of those games, it could drop Havre to the fourth seed, which would mean a matchup against Tri-County in the first round. The other possible first-round opponent is Medicine Hat, the host team. The tournament will get underway Thursday.

Havre 9, Vauxhall 7

Vauxhall 000 012 4 - 7 7 4

Havre 700 110 x - 9 7 2

WP - Austin Delarosa

LP - Caleb Anderson

Havre - Ethan Roberts 2-4, Quinn Reno 1-2, Trenton Maloughney 1-4, Kelden Sullivan 1-2, Eli Cloninger 1-2, Tony Antley 1-2, Tyrel Kjersem 0-1, Ethan Carlson 0-3, Kennedy McKay, Hunter Lovenguth 0-0.

Vauxhall 7, Havre 5

Vauxhall 111 002 2 - 7 11 1

Havre 000 005 x - 5 3 1

WP - Dallas Cummins

LP - Tyrel Kjersem

Havre - Ethan Roberts 0-2, Quinn Reno 0-2, Austin Delarosa 0-3, Caden Jekins 0-2, Eli Cloninger 0-4, Kelden Sullivan 0-3, Tony Antley 1-4, Hunter Lovenguth 2-3, Kennedy McKay 1-3.

Havre 9, Vauxhall 7

Vauxhall 000 012 4 - 7 7 4

Havre 700 110 x - 9 7 2

WP - Austin Delarosa

LP - Caleb Anderson

Havre - Ethan Roberts 2-4, Quinn Reno 1-2, Trenton Maloughney 1-4, Kelden Sullivan 1-2, Eli Cloninger 1-2, Tony Antley 1-2, Tyrel Kjersem 0-1, Ethan Carlson 0-3, Kennedy McKay, Hunter Lovenguth 0-0.

Vauxhall 7, Havre 5

Vauxhall 111 002 2 - 7 11 1

Havre 000 005 x - 5 3 1

WP - Dallas Cummins

LP - Tyrel Kjersem

Havre - Ethan Roberts 0-2, Quinn Reno 0-2, Austin Delarosa 0-3, Caden Jekins 0-2, Eli Cloninger 0-4, Kelden Sullivan 0-3, Tony Antley 1-4, Hunter Lovenguth 2-3, Kennedy McKay 1-3.