Northstars sweep Great Falls Chargers at home

Coming off a busy weekend with the Havre Jamboree, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club got right back on the diamond with a doubleheader against the Great Falls Chargers at Legion Field. After rain delayed the games to Wednesday night, the Northstars looked fresh as they picked up a 10-1 win and a 13-0 victory over the visiting Chargers.

"(We were) pretty good," Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "We hit the ball fairly decent, had some good at bats, played really well on defense and pitched the ball well so you got to be happy with that performance."

From the jump, the Northstars showed they were the better team on Wednesday night. With two men on in the bottom of the first inning, Trenton Maloughney hit a hard ground ball to left field to drive in a run for the early 1-0 lead.

The Northstars kept it rolling in the bottom of the second. After getting two men on to start the inning, Eli Cloninger hit a double to left field to bring in both runners. Cloninger then scored on a groundout to push the lead to 4-0.

Momentum stayed on Havre's side in the bottom of the fourth. With a runner on first, Brody Nanini brought him home with a double to left field. Nanini then scored thanks to a single from Maloughney to push the lead to 6-0. After some offensive struggles lately, Maloughney believes these games were good for the Northstar batters.

"That's something I think we've struggled with a lot earlier this season, it was coming up with big at bats with runners on," Maloughney said. "It finally started to click a little bit today so we're getting confidence going towards these tournaments."

The bats continued to add to the lead in the fourth. Drake Berreth got Maloughney home with an RBI double to left field. Berreth then scored on a fielder's choice to push the lead to 8-0. The Northstars added another pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth and then closed it out in the seventh to win the game.

On offense, Maloughney and Cloninger each recorded two RBIs. Nanini also had a good day at the plate as he went 2-for-3. Lane Kinsella picked up the win as he started the first three innings where he allowed two hits and recorded three strikeouts. Wirtzberger was also happy to see the rest of the defense play well.

"It was good to see some of that stuff get cleaned up," Wirtzberger said.

To start the second game of the doubleheader, the Northstars continued to roll. After a walk to start the bottom of the first, Theron Peterson hit a single to right field to bring in the runner for the 1-0 lead. Peterson used his base running to work his way to third before stealing home plate to increase the lead.

"(We were) just executing," Wirtzberger said about the team's base running. "It's good to see them picking up the signs and it's good to see them executing the offense."

Conner McKay added onto the lead with an RBI single. After a walk, Terek Shipp hit a double to right field to clear the bases and push the lead to 5-0. The Chargers then walked three straight batters, including one with the bases loaded to bring in another run. Maloughney credited the Northstar's patience for putting themselves in position to extend the lead in the first inning.

"That was a big part of today. Being able to have good at bats and get deep into counts," Maloughney said. "I think we did a good job of getting on base and that's how you win baseball games."

Jevin Jenkins capped off the first inning with a single to center field that brought in a pair of runners to push the lead to 8-0. In the bottom of the second, a Charger error allowed Berreth to score another run for Havre.

The third inning continued to see the Northstars push the advantage. After another pair of walks and a single to load the bases, McKay hit a single to right field to bring in a run. Colter Solomon followed him with an RBI single of his own. A fielder's choice and an error allowed another pair of Northstars to score and push the lead to 13-0.

The Northstars kept the Chargers off the board over the next few innings to close it out in five. Shipp picked up the win for Havre as he pitched four out of five innings where he allowed three hits and no walks. Peterson led Havre at the plate as he went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The sweep improved Havre's record to 11-11 on the year, but the Northstars have little time to relax as they will compete in the Gallatin Valley Tournament in Three Forks this weekend. Over this upcoming weekend, the Northstars will play five games against some tough competition.

On Friday at 3:15 p.m., the Northstars will start the tournament with a game against the Cody Cubs. The Cubs come from Wyoming and are the two-time defending state champions. Havre played Cody last year, which the Cubs won 15-3.

The tournament will then continue Saturday at 8:30 a.m. with the Northstars playing the Lewistown Redbirds. The Northstars and Redbirds played in a doubleheader last month, which the teams split.

Later on Saturday, Havre will play the Gallatin Valley Outlaws at 3:15 p.m. The Outlaws are the defending state champions and already defeated Havre, 9-5, at the Havre Jamboree this past weekend.

The Northstars will wrap up the tournament Sunday with a pair of games. Havre will play the Bitteroot Red Sox at 10:45 a.m. and then Havre will play the Dillon Cubs at 1 p.m. With this slate ahead of them, Wirtzberger knows the Northstars will need to be at the top of their game this weekend.

"They're really good teams down there," Wirtzberger said. "Really good competition. We're going to have to be playing our best if we're going to hope to win some games down there."

The Northstars begin the Gallatin Valley Tournament Friday at 3:15 p.m. with a game against the Cody Cubs.

Havre 10, Great Falls 1

GF 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 5 2

HAV 1 3 0 4 0 2 X - 10 9 3

WP - Lane Kinsella

LP - Walker Parsons

Havre Batting - Eli Cloninger 1-4, Theron Peterson 0-3, Brody Nanini 2-3, Trenton Maloughney 2-4, Drake Berreth 1-3, Conner McKay 0-2, Chason Mader 1-1, Kale Reno 0-3, Kale VanCampen 1-3, Ezra Pyle 1-2, Colter Solomon 0-2.

Havre 13, Great Falls 0

GF 0 0 0 0 0 X X - 0 4 5

HAV 8 1 4 0 X X X - 13 8 0

WP - Terek Shipp

LP - Beau Carns

Havre Batting - Chason Mader 0-1, Theron Peterson 2-3, Jevin Jenkins 1-2, Lane Kinsella 0-2, Trenton Maloughney 0-1, Tanner Delarosa 0-1, Conner McKay 2-3, Kale Reno 1-2, Logan Kinsella 0-1, Drake Berreth 0-1, Colter Solomon 1-1m Terek Shipp 1-3, Ezra Pyle 0-2.