Northstars defend home field with strong weekend

The past few weeks have been kind to the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club. Not only have they placed high at their past two tournaments, the Northstars went 4-0 in their games this past weekend at Legion Field. On Thursday night, the Northstars swept the Tri County Cardinals by scores of 10-0 in both games. Then on Saturday night, the Northstars won 13-3 and 12-2 in their two games against the Lethbridge Miners.

"The boys have been playing really well. Their pitching has been really good and the defense has been really good," Havre assistant coach Shane Reno said about their recent performances. "They've been hitting the ball. They've been responding to what we're asking them to do when they get on base. They've been responding well in situational hitting opportunities. They've been doing a really good job."

The Northstars started the weekend on Thursday with their sweep of the Cardinals. The Northstars started Thursday night with a 10-0 win. After a slow start, the Northstars took the lead in the bottom of the third. With a runner on base, Brody Nanini hit a double to left field to drive in the run for the lead. Later in the inning, Theron Peterson hit an RBI single to right field to push the lead to 2-0.

Havre continued to build the lead in the bottom of the fourth. With a runner on, Kale VanCampen tripled to center field to drive in the runner. VanCampen then scored on a sacrifice fly from Ezra Pyle.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Northstars looked to put the game away. With the bases loaded, VanCampen hit a single to right field to drive in a pair of runs. Pyle then singled to center field to drive in another pair of runs. Drake Berreth then hit another single to drive in two more runs to extend the lead to 10-0 and end the game early.

VanCampen led the Northstars at the plate as he went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. On the mound, Nanini pitched the whole way, allowing three hits and recording three strikeouts. While he had a great game, Nanini credits his teammates for their great defense.

"We were just making plays in the field," Nanini said. "My defense made plays behind me."

The Northstars continued to play well in their 10-0 win over Tri County to complete the sweep. In the bottom of the first with a runner on, Nanini hit a single to center field to drive in the run for the lead.

In the bottom of the second, an RBI single from Eli Cloninger further extended Havre's lead. In the bottom of the third, the Northstars continued to keep up the pressure. With two men on, Peterson cleared the bases with a triple to right field. He then scored on a groundout to push the lead to 5-0.

The Northstars continued to pull away. Early in the bottom of the fourth, Colter Solomon scored on a wild pitch. Cloninger followed that up by stealing home plate. Jevin Jenkins capped off the inning by scoring on a balk to give Havre an 8-0 lead.

The Northstars looked to close it out in the bottom of the fifth. Pyle scored on a passed ball to bring Havre within one run of ending the game early. Then with two outs in the inning, Nanini ended the night with an RBI single to left field. Nanini finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Terek Shipp pitched all five innings for Havre as he allowed six hits and struck out eight batters. The Northstars finished the doubleheader without an error in either game, so Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger was happy with the defensive efforts.

"That's the best (defense) we've played all season," Wirtzberger said. "We really made the right plays most of the time so I like where our defense is at."

The Northstars continued to roll Saturday night, starting with their 13-3 win over the Lethbridge Miners. But early on, the Miners came to play. After working his way to third base in the top of the first, River Hope scored on a sacrifice fly from Lyle Steadman to give the Miners the lead. Ben Puskar then hit an RBI single to left field to push the lead to 2-0.

But the Northstars responded. In the bottom of the first with a runner on, Jenkins hit a double to right field to drive in the run to get Havre on the scoreboard. The Northstars then got rolling in the bottom of the second. After a walk to open the inning, VanCampen singled to right field to drive in the run to tie the game.

Later in the inning, VanCampen scored on a groundout to give Havre the lead. After two more runners got on base, Nanini hit a double to left field to clear the bases and give Havre a 5-2 lead.

The Northstars kept it rolling in the bottom of the third. With two runners on with two outs, Cloninger singled to center field to bring home a run. Berreth followed that up with an RBI single of his own. Nanini and Jenkins capped off the inning with back-to-back RBI singles to drive in another pair of runs to push the lead to 9-2.

"(It's) just their effort. Consistently doing everything we're asking them to do," Reno said about the offensive production. "They've been doing a good job of that."

In the bottom of the fourth, Cloninger maintained the momentum with an RBI single to add onto the lead. After the Miners scored a run in the top of the fifth, the Northstars kept up the pressure in the bottom of the fifth. Peterson got the inning started with an RBI triple to right field to push the lead further. Trenton Maloughney then singled to center field to push the score to 13-3 to end the game early in five innings.

Kale Reno pitched all five innings for Havre as he allowed five hits, one earned run and one walk. At the plate, Nanini led the Northstars as he went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

The Northstars capped off the weekend with a 12-2 win over the Miners to complete the sweep. Jenkins got the scoring started in the bottom of the first with an RBI single to left field. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Jenkins scored when VanCampen was hit by a pitch at the plate. A wild pitch then allowed another runner to score to extend the lead to 3-0.

In the bottom of the second, the Northstars continued to run up the score. With a runner on, Nanini hit a single to left field to drive in the run. After a walk to load the bases, Peterson drove in a pair of runs with a double to push the lead to 6-0.

After a slow start to the game, the Miners finally found some offense in the top of the third. With a runner on, Karsen Haney hit a single to right field to drive in the run to get Lethbridge on the scoreboard. Later in the inning, Tristan Oriod-Marek hit a double to center field to drive in another run to cut the deficit to 6-2.

But the Northstars did not let go of momentum. With the bases loaded with two outs, Jenkins was hit by a pitch to bring home Pyle for the score. Peterson followed that up with a single that drove in another run. Reno was then hit by a pitch to drive in another run to push the lead to 9-2. In the bottom of the fifth, Berreth scored from third base on a passed ball to stretch the lead to 10-2.

Heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Northstars had the chance to end the game early. After two walks to start the inning, Cloninger drove in a run with a single to right field. Berreth then ended the game early with a single to right field.

Maloughney earned the win as he pitched all six innings for Havre. Along with his two strikeouts, Maloughney allowed six hits, two earned runs and three walks. At the plate, Peterson led Havre as he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

"(I was) making sure to put the ball in play and capitalize when we had runners in scoring position," Peterson said about his strong night at the plate.

The four straight wins over the weekend improved the Northstars' record to 25-17 on the weekend. As they head into their break for the Fourth of July, the Northstars have just a few weeks left before the postseason. With their recent string of strong performances, they seem to be finding their stride at the perfect time.

"We're leaning in the right direction," Shane Reno said. "We just talked to them about not being complacent and not taking anything for granted, so that's what we're going to work on from here on out. We're always trying to get better every day."

The Northstars will next play tonight on the road in Great Falls against the Great Falls Chargers in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m.

Havre 10, Tri County 0

TC 0 0 0 0 0 X X - 0 3 3

HAV 0 0 2 2 6 X X - 10 10 0

WP - Brody Nanini

LP - Logan Vandyke

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

Havre 10, Tri County 0

TC 0 0 0 0 0 X X -0 6 3

HAV 1 1 3 3 2 X X - 10 8 0

WP - Terek Shipp

LP - Jacob Beattie

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

Havre 13, Lethbridge 3

LET 2 0 0 0 1 X X - 3 5 1

HAV 1 4 4 2 2 X X - 13 12 4

WP - Kale Reno

LP - Dylan Asplund

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

Havre 12, Lethbridge 2

LET 0 0 2 0 0 0 X - 2 6 1

HAV 2 4 3 0 1 2 X - 12 10 2

WP - Trenton Maloughney

LP - River Hope

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