Northstars place second at Harry Griffith Memorial

The past two weekends have gone well for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club. After winning the Harold Gjerde Memorial Tournament the previous weekend, the Northstars went 4-1 at the Harry Griffith Memorial Tournament in Miles City this past weekend. While they lost the championship game to finish second in the tournament, Havre assistant coach Shane Reno believes the Northstars had a strong showing over the weekend.

"They played very well. They grew together as a team and really gelled this weekend. It was really good to see them rise to the occasion throughout each game," Reno said. "Overall, they did a really nice job together this weekend."

The Northstars started the weekend with a strong 11-0 win over the Riverton Raiders, a team from Wyoming. After a scoreless first inning, the Northstars took control of the game in the top of the second. After loading the bases, Terek Shipp hit a single to right field to drive in a run for the lead. Eli Cloninger followed that up with a single of his own that brought home two runners.

After another single to load the bases again, Brody Nanini hit a single to drive in another run. Trenton Maloughney then got Cloninger home with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 5-0. In the top of the third, Kale VanCampen scored on a groundout from Ezra Pyle to add onto the lead.

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Northstars got rolling again in the top of the fifth. With two runners on base, VanCampen hit a single to right field to bring in a run. Theron Peterson then scored on an error to push Havre's lead to 8-0.

Then for the second time in the game, VanCampen scored on a groundout by Pyle. After a double from Shipp, Cloninger brought him home with another RBI single. Cloninger then scored himself on a passed ball to give Havre an 11-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Northstars recorded three quick outs to end the game early. Drake Berreth pitched all five innings as he recorded three strikeouts and only allowed two hits. He also led the team with three hits while Cloninger finished the game with three RBIs.

On Friday morning, the Northstars held on to win, 7-6, against the Sheridan Jets, another team from Wyoming. Just like the first game of the tournament, the Northstars got it rolling early. After two singles to open the top of the second, Shipp hit a double to center field to drive in both runners.

Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Nanini doubled to center field to clear the bases and push the lead to 5-0. The Northstars added to the lead in the top of the third with a sacrifice fly from Shipp that got Peterson home for the score.

But the Jets fought their way back into the contest. After loading the bases to start the bottom of the fourth, a Havre error allowed a pair of Jets to score. Tyler Riesen then hit an RBI single to cut Havre's lead to 6-3.

Looking to hold onto their lead, Havre tried to retake momentum. After a walk to open the top of the fifth, Conner McKay hit a double to left field to bring the runner to push the lead to 7-3. But the Jets stayed in the fight.

After loading the bases to start the bottom of the sixth, a groundout by Troy Waugh got a runner home. Riesen then hit a double to left field to drive in another pair of runs to cut Havre's lead to 7-6.

But after that point, Havre was able to hold Sheridan scoreless for the last 1.2 innings to hold on for the win. Nanini pitched the whole way for Havre as he allowed 10 hits and three earned runs while striking out five batters. He also led the team with three RBIs while McKay led Havre with three hits in the game.

The Northstars continued their strong play with a 13-3 win over the Dickinson Volunteers Saturday afternoon. The Northstars started the game early with a single from Berreth on their second at-bat of the top of the first. Nanini then hit a double to left field to bring Berreth home for an early lead. Nanini then scored himself thanks to a sacrifice fly from Peterson.

Later in the inning, a Dickinson error allowed McKay to score to add to the lead. Colter Solomon then hit a double to left field to drive in another run to push the lead to 4-0.

The Northstars then dominated the top of the second to extend the lead. Cloninger scored from third thanks to a passed ball. McKay then hit a single to left field to drive in another pair of runs to push Havre's lead to 7-0. Even in the third, Havre pushed its advantage as Berreth scored on a wild pitch.

In the bottom of the third, the Volunteers finally made some headway on the scoreboard. With a runner on third, Camden Kubas singled to drive in the run to get Dickinson on the scoreboard. Drew Gable then hit an RBI single of his own to drive in another run for the Volunteers.

But Havre responded in the top of the fifth. With two men on, Nanini hit a single to left field to clear the bases. Peterson then hit a single to left field to get Nanini home for the run to push the lead to 11-2.

Dickinson scored another run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 11-3. However, the Northstars just kept rolling. With two men on in the top of the sixth, Cloninger hit a double to center field to drive in another run for Havre. Pyle then scored on a groundout from Berreth to extend the lead to 13-3.

The Northstars then recorded three outs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game early. Shipp pitched all six innings as he allowed six hits and three earned runs and recorded nine strikeouts. At the plate, Nanini recorded three RBIs while Cloninger got three hits in the game.

Havre ended Saturday with a 7-4 win over the Belgrade Bandits. Just like their other games, the Northstars got it started early. After loading the bases early in the top of the first, Cloninger scored on a wild pitch to give Havre the lead. Later in the inning, a Belgrade error allowed a pair of runners to score to extend the lead. The Bandits then committed another error that allowed Pyle to score to push the lead to 4-0.

In the bottom of the first, the Bandits tried to respond. After reaching second, Kash Fike scored on an error to get Belgrade on the scoreboard. But in the top of the second, Berreth recorded an RBI single on a bunt to give Havre a 5-1 lead.

The Northstars kept momentum going in the top of the fourth. With the bases loaded with no outs, VanCampen scored on a fielder's choice. Maloughney then hit an RBI single to center field to give Havre a 7-1 lead.

The Bandits tried to work their way back into the game. In the bottom of the fourth, Aidan Kulbeck scored on a wild pitch to cut into the deficit. In the bottom of the fifth, Lane Neill scored on a groundout. Kulbeck then hit an RBI single to left field to cut Havre's lead to 7-4.

But Havre held Belgrade scoreless the rest of the way to win the game. Kale Reno picked up the win as he pitched the first 5.2 innings where he allowed four hits and two earned runs while recording six strikeouts. At the plate, Cloninger and Berreth each recorded a pair of hits.

In Sunday's tournament championship game against the Miles City Mavericks, the Northstars ended the weekend with an 8-3 loss. In this game, it was the Mavericks that got started early. In the bottom of the first with the bases loaded, a Havre error allowed a pair of runners to score for a 2-0 lead.

Charlie Lang followed that up with a double to left field to drive in another pair of runs. Later in the inning, Dylan Holmlund hit an RBI double that brought in another score for a 2-0 lead.

The Mavericks got rolling in the bottom of the second. Another Havre error resulted in another run for the Mavericks. Later in the inning, Pierce Hollowell singled to left field to drive in a run to push the lead to 7-0.

Havre finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth when Peterson scored on a Miles City error. But in the bottom of the fifth, Miles City responded with an RBI single from Carson Hunter.

The Northstars found some offense in the top of the sixth. After three straight walks to load the bases, Solomon was hit by a pitch to drive in a run. Pyle then hit a single to drive in another run to cut the deficit to 8-3. But the Mavericks held Havre scoreless the rest of the way to secure the tournament championship. Peterson finished the game as the only Northstar with multiple hits.

While the weekend ended with a loss, it was a strong showing for the Northstars as they improved their record to 21-17 on the season. As they return to Havre to play against some conference opponents over the next week. Even after a successful weekend, Reno expects the Northstars to get right back to work.

"We'll just go get a little bit of rest and decompress from a long weekend and then we're just going to go right back to work when we get back to practice," Reno said. "We'll work on the areas we need to improve on and strengthen the ones we did good at."

The Northstars will look to carry their momentum into their doubleheader against the Tri County Cardinals at Legion Field on Thursday starting at 5 p.m.

Havre 11, Riverton 0

HAV 0 5 1 0 5 X X - 11 12 1

RIV 0 0 0 0 0 X X - 0 2 3

WP - Drake Berreth

LP - Darrick DeVries

Havre Batting - Eli Cloninger 2-4, Drake Berreth 3-4, Brody Nanini 1-4, Trenton Maloughney 0-2, Kale Reno 1-3, Theron Peterson 0-3, Kale VanCampen 2-2, Ezra Pyle 1-3, Terek Shipp 2-3.

Havre 7, Sheridan 6

HAV 0 5 1 0 1 0 0 - 7 8 2

SHE 0 0 0 3 0 3 - 6 10 0

WP - Brody Nanini

LP - Tyler Riesen

Havre Batting - Eli Cloninger 1-3, Drake Berreth 0-4, Brody Nanini 1-4, Trenton Maloughney 0-3, Theron Peterson 1-2, Conner McKay 3-4, Terek Shipp 2-3, Colter Solomon 0-1, Kale VanCampen 0-3.

Havre 13, Dickinson 3

HAV 4 3 1 0 3 2 X - 13 13 1

DIC 0 0 2 0 1 0 X - 3 6 2

WP - Terek Shipp

LP - Nick Sobilik

Havre Batting - Eli Cloninger 3-5, Drake Berreth 2-3, Brody Nanini 2-4, Conner McKay 2-4, Theron Peterson 2-3, Kale Reno 0-3, Lane Kinsella 1-3, Colter Solomon 1-3, Ezra Pyle 0-3.

Havre 7, Belgrade 4

HAV 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 - 7 7 3

BEL 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 - 4 5 2

WP - Kale Reno

LP - Colin Delph

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

Miles City 8, Havre 3

HAV 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 - 3 4 4

MC 5 2 0 0 1 0 X - 8 8 1

WP - Ryder Lee

LP - Trenton Maloughney

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