Northstars play hard in Gallatin Valley Tournament

The summer just keeps trudging along for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club as they competed in the Gallatin Valley Tournament in Three Forks this past weekend. When things were all said and done, the Northstars had a solid weekend as they went 3-2 in their games.

"It was a good weekend overall," Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "We played some good baseball at times. We still need to work on being more consistent with our approaches in the field and at the plate. It was good to see all of our pitchers get out there and have success."

The Northstars started the weekend on Friday afternoon with a 7-1 win over the Cody Cubs, the two-time defending state champions from Wyoming. The Northstars got it started in the top of the first inning. Eli Cloninger started the game with a single to center field before scoring off an RBI single from Theron Peterson. After getting two men on base to start the top of the second, Terek Shipp hit an RBI single to push the lead to 2-0.

After a few scoreless innings, the Northstars got it rolling again in the top of the fifth. After two straight singles to start the inning, Brody Nanini hit a double to left field to bring in a run. Jevin Jenkins followed that up with an RBI single of his own. An error from the Cubs then allowed Nanini to score to push Havre's advantage to 5-0.

The Northstars held onto momentum late in the game. In the top of the sixth, Kale VanCampen stole home plate for another run for the Northstars. After the Cubs finally scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, Havre responded in the seventh with Drake Berreth scoring on another error by the Cubs. The Northstars then got three outs in the bottom of the seventh to close out the win.

Several Northstars had multiple hits to open the weekend, with Peterson going 3-for-3 from the plate with an RBI. Trenton Maloughney picked up the win as he pitched the first six innings, where he allowed six hits and one earned run and he recorded six strikeouts.

On Saturday morning, the Northstars had to make a comeback in their 7-6 victory over the Lewistown Redbirds. Despite getting two outs to start the bottom of the first, the Redbirds were able to load the bases. A bases-loaded walk then brought in a run to give Lewistown a 1-0 lead.

Wyatt Elam then hit a single to center field to drive in another run for the Redbirds. Another bases-loaded walk then pushed the lead to 3-0. Brody Jenness capped off the inning with an RBI single to give Lewistown an early 4-0 lead. The Redbirds scored again in the bottom of the second to give themselves a 5-0 lead.

But the Northstars did not waiver as they fought their way back. After loading the bases with no outs to start the top of the third, a walk brought in a run to get Havre on the scoreboard. Berreth then hit a single to right field to bring in another run. Another walk brought in a run to cut Havre's deficit to 5-3. Jenkins then scored on a sacrifice fly from Ezra Pyle to cut the deficit to one run.

In the top of the sixth, the Northstars took control. With the bases loaded, Peterson hit a single to left field to bring in a pair of runs to give Havre a 6-5 lead. Jenkins later hit an RBI single of his own to push the advantage to 7-5.

The Redbirds were able to score a run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to one run. But the Northstars were able to close it out in the bottom of the seventh to complete the comeback. Peterson and Jenkins each recorded two RBIs in the game while Peterson and Berreth each recorded two hits against the Redbirds.

But on Saturday night, the Northstars suffered a 5-0 loss to the Gallatin Valley Outlaws, the defending state champions. The Outlaws showed why they won the state title last season as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the fifth, the Outlaws added on their lead to make it 5-0.

The Northstar offense struggled against the Outlaws. As a team, they only recorded two hits in the game. Cloninger and Maloughney were the only players to get a hit in the contest.

On Sunday morning, the Northstars were able to bounce back to win, 5-2, against the Bitterroot Red Sox. Havre got it started in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Jenkins to take a 1-0 lead.

The Northstars then took control in the bottom of the second. With a runner on first, Colter Solomon hit a double to left field to bring in the runner. Solomon then scored thanks to an RBI single from Nanini. Jenkins then capped off the inning with an RBI single to right field to push the lead to 4-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, VanCampen scored on a passed ball to extend the lead to 5-0. The Red Sox scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, but that was all they could muster for the game. Kale Reno picked up the win as he pitched all seven innings. In the game, he allowed seven hits, two earned runs and two walks while striking out three batters. At the plate, Jenkins went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

On Sunday afternoon, the weekend came to an end with a 4-0 loss to the Dillon Cubs. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third with an RBI single. The Cubs scored again in the top of the sixth to push it 4-0. As a team, the Northstars amassed three hits. Cloninger, Pyle and Solomon each recorded a hit in the contest.

After the weekend, the Northstars have pushed above .500 with a 14-13 record. The Northstars will look to maintain their winning record as they head to Conrad this Tuesday to play a doubleheader against the Tri County Cardinals.

Havre 7, Cody 1

HAV 1 1 0 0 3 1 1 - 7 12 1

COD 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1 4 2

WP - Trenton Maloughney

Havre Batting - Eli Cloninger 2-4, Theron Peterson 3-3, Brody Nanini 1-3, Jevin Jenkins 1-3, Drake Berreth 2-4, Kale Reno 0-2, Terek Shipp 1-3, Kale VanCampen 1-3, Colter Solomon 1-4.

Havre 7, Lewistown 6

HAV 0 0 4 0 0 3 0 - 7 9 0

LEW 4 1 0 0 1 0 - 6 9 0

WP - Theron Peterson

LP - Taylor Smith

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

Gallatin Valley 5, Havre 0

HAV 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 2

GV 2 0 0 0 3 0 X - 5 12 0

LP - Brody Nanini

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

Havre 5, Bitterroot 2

BIT 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 2 7 0

HAV 1 3 1 0 0 0 X - 5 9 3

WP - Kale Reno

LP - Esten Pierce

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

Dillon 4, Havre 0

DIL 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 - 4 6 0

HAV 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 2

LP - Terek Shipp

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