Northstars get off to hot starts against Billings Expos

While it is early in the season, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club had their hands full with four games against the Billings Expos AA team at Legion Field this past weekend. But the Northstars looked like they were in midseason form already as they went 3-1 against the Expos. Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger was most impressed by the Northstars' pitching over the weekend.

"Our pitching was really strong," Wirtzberger said. "Our guys didn't walk a lot of guys and competed through a lot of really tough at bats and gave us a chance to win and that's what we're looking for."

The Northstars opened the weekend with an 8-3 win over the Expos Saturday afternoon. The Northstars took momentum early in the bottom of the first inning. After two runners got on base to start the inning, Brody Nanini hit a single to center field to give Havre a 2-0 lead. After the Northstars loaded the bases, Nanini scored on a groundout from Theron Peterson.

Conner McKay kept things rolling with an RBI single to extend the lead. After another runner got on base, Ezra Pyle hit a single to drive in another pair of runners to push the lead to 6-0. The Expos tried to fight their way back into the game with an RBI single in the top of the third. But in the bottom of the sixth, a single from McKay drove in a pair of runs to push the lead to 8-1.

The Expos scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, but the Northstars were able to record the third out to win the opening game of the weekend. McKay finished the game with three RBIs and two hits. Kale Reno started the game at pitcher for Havre and he only allowed three hits and one earned run.

"(He was) just fantastic. He mixed his pitches very well and was locating his fastball about as good as I've ever seen him," Wirtzberger said about Reno's performance. "He held runners on really well which saved us bases and may have saved us a couple runs there when the game was kind of hanging in the balance."

Later Saturday night, the Expos came from behind to defeat Havre 4-3. It was a slow start for both teams until the bottom of the third. After two men got on base, Trenton Maloughney hit a double to left field to give Havre a 1-0 lead. A sacrifice fly from Peterson then got another runner home for a 2-0 lead.

The bottom of the fourth started with a Billings error that resulted in Terek Shipp getting to first. After working his way to third, Shipp scored on a groundout by Chason Mader to push the lead to 3-0.

But the Expos worked their way back into the game. In the top of the sixth, the Expos got their bats rolling to drive in three runs to tie the game 3-3. In the top of the seventh, a passed ball from the Northstars allowed an Expo to score from third and give Billings a 4-3 lead. The Expos then recorded three outs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.

"They were able to just stick to it. They made enough plays in the field and then when it came down to the end, they put the pressure on us," Wirtzberger said about the Expos' comeback. "Credit to them for hanging in there and staying in the game."

Shipp led the Northstars with two hits while Mader and Maloughney recorded the only two RBIs of the game. Nanini started the game at pitcher and went 5.2 innings where he allowed three earned runs and one walk but he recorded 10 strikeouts.

The Northstars bounced back Sunday morning with an 11-1 win over the Expos. The Northstars got things rolling in the bottom of the first. After two straight walks to start the inning, Nanini brought them both home for a 2-0 lead with a double. He then scored himself on an error later in the inning. Peterson followed up the score with an RBI single to push the lead to 4-0.

Reno and Berreth kept the scoring going with another pair of RBI hits in the bottom of the first. Their hits pushed the lead to 6-0. The Expos were able to score a run in the top of the second but it was not enough to take momentum.

The Northstars got the bats going again in the bottom of the fifth. With two men on, Kale VanCampen tripled to right field to push the lead to 9-1. VanCampen then scored on an error later in the inning. The game ended with Pyle stealing home to push the lead to 11-1 and force the run rule.

Three different Northstars recorded a pair of RBIs in the game while VanCampen led the team with two hits. Maloughney pitched most of the game for the Northstars, recording nine strikeouts and allowing two hits and two walks.

The Northstars kept it rolling Sunday afternoon with an 8-2 win over Billings. Early on, it looked like the Expos had come to play with a run in the top of the first. But the Northstars had another strong performance in the bottom of the first.

Berreth tied the game after scoring on a dropped ball by the Expos. An RBI double from Maloughney then gave Havre a 2-1 lead. Maloughney then scored on an error to push the lead to 3-1.

McKay followed that up with an RBI double to push the lead to 4-1. McKay then scored on a wild pitch. In both their games Sunday, the Northstars scored at least five runs in the first inning to take a sizable lead.

"They're hitting balls hard and the balls we don't hit hard are finding holes," Wirtzberger said about their early inning success. "We're executing throughout the offense and the base running. It's a lot of good things working together."

In the bottom of the third, Havre pushed the lead to 6-1 with an RBI single from Reno. The Expos were able to cut into the deficit with a run off an error in the top of the fifth. But the Northstars scored another three runs in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 8-2.

The Northstars held the Expos scoreless the rest of the way to win the game. Lane Kinsella and Colter Solomon split the game pitching for the Northstars. They only allowed one earned run and one walk while recording six combined strikeouts. Reno ended the weekend with a solid game for Havre as he led the team with two hits and two RBIs. With runners in scoring position, he knew he had to take advantage of the opportunity.

"I just knew I had to do my job bringing in those runs which I did," Reno said.

The Northstars are now 4-2 on this young season. After competing in four games in a 24-hour span this past weekend, Wirtzberger saw what his roster has to offer and believes they have the depth to compete this summer.

"Our depth shined through," Wirtzberger said. "Our pitching really stepped up. We were able to get all our young kids some playing time which is huge and our depth on the mound wasn't an issue this weekend and that's going to be huge for us going forward."

The Havre Northstars will next play on the road Saturday at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader against the Great Falls Chargers A team.

Havre 8, Billings 3

BIL 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 - 3 5 1

HAV 6 0 0 0 0 2 X - 8 8 3

WP - Kale Reno

Havre Batting - Drake Berreth 1-4, Eli Cloninger 1-3, Brody Nanini 2-4, Trenton Maloughney 1-2, Jevin Jenkins 0-2, Theron Peterson 0-2, Conner McKay 2-4, Lane Kinsella 0-1, Colter Solomon 0-1, Ezra Pyle 1-3.

Billings 4, Havre 3

BIL 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 - 4 6 2

HAV 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 - 3 6 3

WP - Zander Holst

LP- Lane Kinsella

Havre Batting - Drake Berreth 1-4, Eli Cloninger 0-3, Brody Nanini 1-3, Trenton Maloughney 1-4, Theron Peterson 0-3, Kale Reno 0-3, Terek Shipp 2-3, Colter Solomon0-2, Lane Kinsella 0-1, Chason Mader 0-2, Jevin Jenkins 1-1.

Havre 11, Billings 1

BIL 0 1 0 0 0 X X - 1 2 4

HAV 7 0 0 0 4 X X -11 7 2

WP - Trenton Maloughney

LP - Noah Crane

Havre Batting - Drake Berreth 1-1, Eli Cloninger 0-2, Brody Nanini 1-3, Trenton Maloughney 1-3, Jevin Jenkins 0-2, Theron Peterson 1-2, Kale VanCampen 2-3, Ezra Pyle 0-1, Kale Reno 1-2.

Havre 8, Billings 2

BIL 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 2 7 2

HAV 5 0 1 0 2 0 X - 8 8 2

WP - Lane Kinsella

LP - Owen McKinney

Havre Batting - Drake Berreth 0-3, Eli Cloninger 2-4, Brody Nanini 1-2, Trenton Maloughney 1-2, Ezra Pyle 0-1, Kale VanCampen 0-3, Theron Peterson 1-1, Conner McKay 1-3, Kale Reno 2-2, Tanner Delarosa 0-3, Lane Kinsella 0-1.