Havre Northstars take second at districts

At Legion Field over the weekend, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club hosted the North A Districts tournament. Along with the other seven teams in the tournament, the Northstars battled to finish in the top two in order to clinch a spot in this week's state tournament.

The Northstars played well throughout the weekend and made it to the championship game on Sunday against the Lewistown Redbirds. The Redbirds wound up defeating the Northstars, 8-6, but with their second-place finish in the tournament, the Northstars clinched a spot in the state tournament.

"We accomplished our goal. We're moving on to next week," Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "I think we're on the cusp of playing some really good baseball. If we can put it all together next week, the sky's the limit for these guys."

The Redbirds got things started in the bottom of the first. After a walk to open the inning, Luke Clinton hit a triple to right to drive in the run and give Lewistown the lead. Later in the second inning after working his way to third base, Tate Mangold scored on a wild pitch to push the lead to 2-0.

After a scoreless third, the Redbirds got rolling again in the fourth. With a single and two walks to load the bases, Nolan Fry drove in a pair of runs with a single to left. Xander Wright kept it going with a single to center to drive in another run to push the lead to 5-0.

"They're just a tough team. If you miss across the plate, they're going to make you pay," Wirtzberger said about the Lewistown offense. "That's what they've been doing all season so credit them for their fight and staying in that game."

The Northstars finally responded in the top of the fifth to get on the scoreboard. After loading the bases, Brody Nanini hit a single to center to drive in a pair of runs. But the Redbirds responded in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs on a wild pitch and an error to push the lead to 7-2.

Havre again got rolling in the top of the sixth. With two runners on, Eli Cloninger singled to right to drive in a run. After a Lewistown error to load the bases, Nanini brought in a runner with a sacrifice fly. An infield single by Trenton Maloughney then brought in another runner to cut Havre's deficit to 7-5. After a slow start to the game, Wirtzberger believes the Northstars were finally taking advantage of scoring opportunities.

"We started to get hits with runners in scoring position," Wirtzberger said. "We had runners in scoring position early in the game, we just couldn't cash it in. I felt like we hit the ball hard a lot. It was going right at people and that's the way it is sometimes so I'm glad we were able to battle and stay in the game."

After Lewistown scored in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-5, the Northstars only had three more outs in the top of the seventh. After two runners got on base, Kale Reno singled to center to drive in a run to cut it 8-6. But with a chance to extend the game, Cloninger grounded out into a double play to end the game.

In order to even make it to the championship game, the Northstars had to win an elimination game against the Vauxhall Spurs earlier on Sunday morning. Thanks to their defense and timely hits, the Northstars were able to defeat the Spurs, 5-0, to advance to the tournament's championship game.

The Northstars started strong as they looked to keep their season alive. Cloninger started the game with a single to get on base and Drake Berreth was walked to get another runner. Nanini took advantage as he hit a double to left to clear the base and give Havre a 2-0 lead. After a loss the previous nightt, Wirtzberger liked how the Northstars came out to start the game.

"I think the experience came through. This is a mature group and they were able to process what happened (the previous night) and move forward and really start off hot today and that helps out a lot," Wirtzberger said.

Over the next five innings, the Havre bats slowed down and they were unable to score. However, the Havre defense played strong throughout the game to hold the lead. Reno had a strong game pitching for Havre as he allowed no runs and four hits over seven innings.

"The defense helped Kale out a ton but he pitched an amazing game," Wirtzberger said. "He was getting them ground balls and these guys were making plays. That's Northstar baseball right there. That's the way we want to play."

After a lull on the scoreboard, the Northstars got rolling again in the top of the seventh. After loading the bases to start the inning, Nanini scored on a fielder's choice when Ezra Pyle grounded out. Conner McKay then drove in another run with a single to right. After loading the bases again, Cloninger was hit by a pitch to bring another run to give Havre a 5-0 lead.

The Northstars then recorded three quick outs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win. While they went on to lose to the Redbirds later on Sunday, the Northstars had secured a spot in the Class A State tournament in Belgrade later this week. For many of the team's seniors such as Reno, getting to play more baseball is a blessing.

"It's huge for me and the team," Reno said. "That was just my goal for the year. To go to state."

The Northstars had a long road to get to Sunday. Starting Thursday, the Northstars survived a thriller against the Calgary Strive as they won, 11-10, thanks to a walk off RBI single from Maloughney.

The Northstars' adversity started early as Calgary got rolling in the top of the first. After loading the bases with a hit batter and a pair of walks, Solomon Searle hit a triple to right field to clear the bases to give Calgary the 3-0 lead. Then in the top of the second, a pair of Havre errors allowed runners to reach base. Julian Dunay then hit a single to center field to clear the bases and extend the lead to 5-0.

Despite the early hole, the Northstars climbed their way back. After loading the bases, Berreth hit a double to center field to drive in a pair of runs. Nanini followed that up with a double of his own that drove in another pair of runs to cut Havre's deficit to 5-4.

But the bats slowed down for Havre over the next three innings as they were unable to score any runs. The Strive defense did not commit any errors in the game and Matthew Metcalfe had a strong start to the night.

"I think their pitcher was effectively wild. It was hard to figure when he was going to throw a strike or what pitches he was going to throw on what counts," Wirtzberger said.

The Strive took advantage of their strong defense to extend the lead. In the top of the third with two men on, Dunay hit a double to left to drive in a run. Then in the top of the fifth, Alex Foster scored on a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 7-4.

But the Northstars eventually broke through Metcalfe's pitching to get on a roll. In the bottom of the sixth with two runners on, Nanini singled to left to clear the bases and cut the deficit to 7-6. After loading the bases with another single and a walk, Maloughney hit an infield single to drive in a run to tie the game. After all their mistakes in the game, the Northstars had fought back to make it a new game.

"All season long, I think we've responded to adversity really well," Maloughney said. "I thought we played one of our worst outings tonight. It's bad that it's at districts but we have to find a way to win and I feel like we always find a way to do that."

McKay kept it rolling with an RBI single that drove in another pair of runs to give Havre the 9-7 lead. Calgary pitcher Jordan Conrad then committed a balk that drove in another run to give Havre a 10-7 lead.

Despite the blown lead, the Strive responded in the top of the seventh. After getting two runners on base, a single drove in a run to cut into the deficit. Dunay then scored on a groundout to cut the deficit to one run. A Havre error allowed another runner to score to tie the game.

Even after blowing their own lead, the Northstars started the bottom of the seventh with a double from Cloninger and a single from Berreth. Nanini was then intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs.

But a strikeout and a groundout gave the Northstars only one more out to end the game. Fortunately for Havre, Maloughney took advantage of the scoring opportunity with the single that drove in the winning run. This weekend's tournament will be the last time Maloughney will play at Legion Field, so he was happy to make a memory like this.

"I think that was really special. I've always felt this place has a magic in it," Maloughney said. "It was pretty special tonight to see a packed crowd getting after it and it was awesome to walk it off."

Maloughney finished the game with a team high three hits while Nanini led the Northstars with four RBIs. Nanini also earned the win as he pitched the final 0.2 innings of the game.

On Friday night, the Northstars handled business with a 6-3 win over the Vauxhall Spurs. The Northstars had an early scoring opportunity in top of the first inning as they loaded the bases. A walk then brought in Cloninger for a run to take the lead. Nanini then scored on a balk to give Havre a 2-0 lead.

The Havre defense also had a strong start to the game as they held Vauxhall scoreless in the first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Spurs finally scored as Dallas Cummins scored on a groundout.

But the Northstars held onto control with another pair of runs in the top of the fifth. After working his way to third base, Theron Peterson scored on a wild pitch. Cloninger then drove in another run with a single to center to give Havre a 4-1 lead.

In the top of the sixth, Pyle drove in another pair of runs with a single to left. The Spurs scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-3, but the Northstars held them scoreless after that to win the game.

After an 11-10 win over the Calgary Strive on Thursday night to open the tournament, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger believes Maloughney's pitching helped the Northstars hold control through most of Friday's game. He earned the win as he pitched 6.2 innings where he allowed four hits, two earned runs and two walks.

"Trenton pitched an amazing game," Wirtzberger said. "He was hitting spots all night, he was making it difficult for their hitters and our defense made a lot of plays so credit to us for getting ready and being focused for that one."

But the Northstars ran into trouble with a 5-4 loss to the Lewistown Redbirds on Saturday night. It looked like the Northstars had control early on in the game. After loading the bases to start the top of the third inning, Pyle scored on a passed ball to give Havre the lead. Kale Vancampen then scored on another passed ball to add onto the lead. Another passed ball allowed Cloninger to give Havre the 3-0 lead.

Nanini started the game at pitcher and he started strong. Along with the rest of the Havre defense, Nanini held the Redbirds scoreless through the first three innings. Despite shortcomings in other parts of the game, Wirtzberger liked how the defense came out to start the game.

"I thought Brody pitched really well and I thought we played defense well for six innings," Wirtzberger said. "We just made a couple key mistakes in the seventh and that's what it comes down to."

The Redbirds broke through on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. After Wright opened the inning with a single, Clinton brought him home with a single of his own. Travis McAlpin then hit a single to left to drive in Clinton for another run to cut their deficit to 3-2.

The Redbirds and Northstars then went back and forth. In the bottom of the fifth, Justin Maier scored on a sacrifice fly from Fry to tie the game. The Northstars responded in the top of the sixth with Nanini scoring on a passed ball to give Havre a 4-3 lead. Then in the bottom of the sixth, McAlpin drove in a run with a single to tie the game again.

After the Northstars went scoreless in the top of the seventh, the Redbirds got the chance to walk it off. A pair of Havre errors in the beginning of the inning allowed runners to reach base. A single from Wright then loaded the bases with only one out. Trajan Sparks ended the game with a single to center to walk it off.

With this long weekend now in the books, the Northstars have finished their season at Legion Field. The Northstars had an excellent season at home and a great postseason as they went 4-2 at districts in their own field. While he will miss the confines of Legion Field, Wirtzberger is happy that their work does not stop here.

"It's different than normal because the season is not over," Wirtzberger said. "I'm just so proud of these guys for the way that they fight. It's been a lot of fun this summer. Hanging around with these guys and traveling all over the place with them. We get to do it for one more week so I'm really proud."

The Havre Northstars will now head to Belgrade for the Class A State tournament. They will start the tournament with a game against the Butte Miners on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Havre 11, Calgary 10

CAL 3 2 1 0 1 0 3 - 10 7 0

HAV 0 4 0 0 0 6 1 - 11 12 6

WP - Brody Nanini

LP - Matthew Metcalfe

Havre Batting - Eli Cloninger 2-4, Drake Berreth 3-5, Brody Nanini 2-3, Jevin Jenkins 1-3, Colter Solomon 0-1, Theron Peterson 0-4, Trenton Maloughney 3-5, Conner McKay 1-3, Kale Reno 0-1, Kale Vancampen 0-2.

Havre 6, Vauxhall 3

HAV 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 - 6 5 1

VAU 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 - 3 4 1

WP - Trenton Maloughney

LP - Jaxxon Pavka

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

Lewistown 5, Havre 4

HAV 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 - 4 2 6

LEW 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 - 5 10 1

WP - Xander Wright

LP - Brody Nanini

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

Havre 5, Vauxhall 0

HAV 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 5 7 0

VAU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 4

WP - Kale Reno

LP - Dallas Cummins

Havre Batting - Eli Cloninger 2-4, Drake Berreth 0-4, Brody Nanini 2-3, Trenton Maloughney 1-2, Theron Peterson 0-3, Jevin Jenkins 0-3, Ezra Pyle 1-4, Terek Shipp 0-1, Conner McKay 1-1, Kale Vancampen 0-3.

Lewistown 8, Havre 6