Northstars snap skid at Harold Gjerde Memorial

The Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club rode a five-game losing streak into the Harold Gjerde Memorial tournament this past weekend in Lewistown. In the tournament, the Northstars got it going at the plate to lead them to a 3-1 record over the weekend to snap their skid.

"They played really well. Starting to come together a little bit and it all started at the plate," said Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger. "We just hit the ball really well every single game, and that's why we were able to come away with some wins."

Their three wins over the weekend improved the Northstars' record to 14-10. By ending their losing streak coming into the weekend, Wirtzberger believes his team is learning how to pull out wins against close teams.

"It was good for the guys to be able to push through and get some wins against good teams so they can understand what it takes to beat good teams," Wirtzberger said.

Havre opened the weekend with a 9-2 win over the Gallatin Valley Outlaws on Thursday to snap their losing streak. In the top of the first inning, Brody Nanini got the scoring going early as he hit a double to left field to drive in a run for the lead. Tavish McLean then added to the scoreboard with an RBI single that made Havre's lead 2-0.

The Outlaws responded in the bottom of the first to tie the game. Cyrus Richardson hit an RBI single to get Gallatin Valley on the scoreboard and then Isaac Richardson scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.

The Northstars did not let momentum get away from them as Caden Jenkins hit an RBI double to retake the lead in the top of the second. In the top of the fourth, a sacrifice fly from Carson Lunak got another runner home to extend Havre's lead. Kale Reno then grounded out into a fielder's choice to get another runner home to make Havre's lead 5-2. Eli Cloninger and Nanini added another pair of RBI singles to make Havre's lead 7-2.

Havre scored another pair of runs in the remainder of the game to make their lead 9-2. On the defensive side of the plate, Nanini pitched the entire game for the Northstars. In his seven innings pitched, he allowed two runs, six hits and three walks and recorded a strikeout.

The Northstars could not carry their momentum into Friday, where they suffered a close loss to the Glacier Twins. Even though Havre got their offense going and came back multiple times, Glacier held on to win the game, 9-8.

Havre fell behind quickly when Jacob Polumbus hit an RBI single to left field to give Glacier a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Twins pushed their lead out even further in the bottom of the second. A sacrifice fly from Mason Peters got another runner home and then Stevyn Andrachick tripled to left field to drive in another run and make their lead 3-0.

The Northstars finally got their offense going in the top of the third to tie the game, 3-3. After a Kale VanCampen double to get on base, Jenkins hit a single to right field to drive in the run and get Havre on the scoreboard. On the next two Havre at-bats, a Nanini double and Ethan Carlson single drove in another pair of runs to tie the game.

The Twins responded to the Northstars' rally with a strong inning of their own in the bottom of the third. After Polumbus tripled to get on base, Jake McIntyre doubled to center field to get the runner home for the lead. Mikey Glass then hit an RBI single to right field to make their lead 5-3.

Havre again made a rally in the top of the fifth, this time to take their first lead of the game. After the Northstars got the bases loaded, Jenkins hit a triple to center field to clear the bases and take a 6-5 lead. A sacrifice fly from Eli Cloninger then got Jenkins home for the 7-5 lead.

"Hitting the baseball," said Wirtzberger on how they took the lead. "We had a lot of hits in that game and those were some good pitchers that we were facing."

However, Havre failed to hold onto the lead as Glacier took control of the game in the bottom of the fifth. The Twins cut Havre's lead to one run after three straight singles to open the frame. Taylor Bryan then tied it for Glacier with an RBI single. Peters gave Glacier an 8-7 lead when he hit a single to drive in another run.

"They just hit the ball. They just pressured us every single inning and sooner or later they were going to break through," Wirtzberger said.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Twins got another run to push their lead to two runs. Havre tried another comeback in the top of the seventh. The frame looked promising when they got the bases loaded with only one out but the only run they got came from a sacrifice fly from Lunak. The Northstars got the bases loaded again, but Glacier recorded the final out to finish off Havre.

The Northstars bounced back Saturday morning with a 5-3 win over the Mead Panthers. Havre looked to take control of the game early as they took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Havre took the lead when Jenkins scored on a wild pitch. McLean then grounded out into a fielder's choice to get another runner home.

Mead responded in the top of the second to take a lead of their own. With two men on, Will Strauch hit a single to center field that allowed a runner to score. Luke Depriest then grounded out into a fielder's choice to get another Mead runner home to tie the game. A Northstar error then allowed a runner to score and take the 3-2 lead.

The offense for both sides slowed down over the next few innings but Havre finally got it going in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead. Tarek Shipp tied the game for Havre when he scored on a wild pitch. Cloninger then gave the Northstars the lead with an RBI single to right field. Ethan Carlson pushed their lead to 5-3 with an RBI single to left field.

The Northstars failed to score another run for the rest of the game but that did not matter because Mead failed to score as well, thanks to the pitching efforts of Lunak. After giving up three runs in the top of the second, he finished the game allowing only five hits and no walks and struck out five batters.

"Carson Lunak was just tremendous on the mound," Wirtzberger said. "He was super focused, threw a lot of strikes and let his defense make plays for him."

Havre finished the weekend with a dominant 19-2 win over the Miles City Mavericks later on Saturday. Despite the large margin of victory, it took the Northstars several innings before they got their offense going.

Miles City struck first in the game as they scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, Trenton Maloughney walked Miles City batters in two straight at-bats. Havre responded with an explosive fourth inning that saw them score eight runs. It started with an RBI single from Theron Peterson to get Havre on the scoreboard. Havre then tied the game with a bases-loaded walk.

With the bases loaded, Connor McKay hit a single to right field to drive in two runs. Later in the inning, Cloninger scored on a wild pitch to give Havre a 5-2 lead. A pair of hits from Carlson and Peterson drove in another three runs to push Havre's lead to 8-2. The Northstars scored 11 runs in the last two innings, including 10 runs in the sixth to end the game early.

"Just consistent approaches at the plate and putting pressure on their pitcher," said Wirtzberger on how they exploded at the plate. "We were just hitting everything that was close to the strike zone."

After allowing two runs early on, Maloughney and relief pitcher Jevin Jenkins did not allow Miles City to score the rest of the way. Maloughney pitched five innings where he allowed seven hits and four walks while striking out three batters. In his one inning in relief, Jenkins allowed one hit and recorded one strikeout.

"Trenton did really good. He was battling some arm soreness and tightness," Wirtzberger said. "He didn't have his good stuff that day but he battled and he gave us a chance."

The Northstars were set to end the weekend with a game against the Tri County Cardinals on Sunday. However, the game was rained out. The Northstars finished second in their tournament pool behind Glacier.

Many Northstars had a strong weekend at the plate. Caden Jenkins led the team with seven RBIs, ten hits and a .588 batting average in their four games. Peterson had a strong stretch of games with four RBIs, six hits and .462 average. In his one game against Miles City, McKay recorded five RBIs and went four-for-four from the plate.

The Northstars will next play in the Miles City Tournament this weekend to continue their road trip. With their strong outing at the Harold Gjerde Memorial, Wirtzberger believes his team is gaining the confidence needed to play well heading forward.

"The guys are starting to play with a lot of confidence, especially at the plate," Wirtzberger said. "We just really hit the ball all week and if you can do that, you're going to win games consistently."

The Havre Northstars will next play in the Miles City Tournament starting this Thursday.

Havre 9, Gallatin Valley 2

Havre 2 1 4 0 1 0 1 - 9 14 3

GV - 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 1

WP - Brody Nanini

LP - Jaxson Kluute

Havre Batting - Caden Jenkins 3-4, Eli Cloninger 1-5, Brody Nanini 3-4, Ethan Carlson 0-3, Trenton Maloughney 2-3, Tavish McLean 2-4, Theron Peterson 1-3, Carson Lunak 1-3, Kale Reno 1-2.

Glacier 9, Havre 8

Havre 0 0 3 4 0 0 1 - 8 9 0

Glacier 1 2 2 0 3 1 X - 9 13 2

WP - Hayden Meehan

LP - Lane Kinsella

Havre Batting - Caden Jenkins 3-5, Eli Cloninger 0-2, Brody Nanini 1-4, Ethan Carlson 1-3, Trenton Maloughney 0-4, Tavish McLean 0-2, Theron Peterson 1-3, Carson Lunak 2-3, Kale VanCampen 1-3.

Havre 5, Mead 3

Mead 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 5 1

Havre 2 0 0 3 0 0 X - 5 6 2

WP - Carson Lunak

LP - Connor Hansen

Havre Batting - Caden Jenkins 1-2, Eli Cloninger 1-2, Brody Nanini 0-3, Ethan Carlson 2-4, Trenton Maloughney 1-3, Tavish McLean 0-3, Theron Peterson 0-3, Kale Reno 1-3, Tarek Shipp 0-1.

Havre 19, Miles City 2

Havre 0 0 0 8 1 10 X - 19 17 1

Miles City 0 0 2 0 0 0 X - 2 8 2

WP - Trenton Maloughney

LP - Ryder Lee

Havre Batting - Caden Jenkins 3-6, Eli Cloninger 0-4, Brody Nanini 1-4, Ethan Carlson 3-4, Theron Peterson 4-4, Kale Reno 0-1, Drake Berreth 1-5, Kale VanCampen 0-2, Connor McKay 4-4, Lane Kinsella 1-1.