Northstars sweep the Great Falls Chargers

On Sunday at Legion Field, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club got back in action with a doubleheader against the Great Falls Chargers A team. As the Northstars continue to get acclimated early in the season, they played well to win both games by scores of 14-2 and 8-5.

"We swung the bats really well. That was one thing that got us going," Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "Struggled a little bit in the second game to make plays and throw strikes but we found a way to pull it out so, overall, it was a good day."

The Northstars got rolling early in their first game of the day. After Kale Reno opened the bottom of the first inning with a single, Drake Berreth drove him in with a triple to center field. Jevin Jenkins then brought Berreth home with a double to center. A single from Terek Shipp then allowed Jenkins to score. Tyson Brandon capped off the first with an RBI single to make it a 4-0 game.

In the bottom of the second, the Northstars continued to roll. After loading the bases with no outs, Conner McKay drove in a pair of runs with a double to left field. Following a walk, Shipp drove in another pair of runs with a single to left. Jenkins then scored to make it a 9-0 game.

The Chargers eventually responded in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 9-2. But the Northstars just kept rolling in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, Jenkins drove in a pair of runs with a double to left. Shipp then drove in another pair of runs with a double to right. Shipp then scored on a sacrifice fly to give Havre a 14-2 lead.

The Northstars held Great Falls scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings to close the game out early. Reno pitched the entire way for Havre as he allowed five hits, two earned runs and four walks, and he recorded nine strikeouts.

Many Northstars had strong games at the plate to start the day. Reno went 3-4 at the plate and he scored three runs for the Northstars. Shipp had a strong game as he went 3-3 at the plate, and he led the team with five RBIs.

"I think our focus was really good. We were just pounding the ball," Shipp said about the Northstar's hitting. "Just consistently hitting the ball was very important and just capitalizing on their mistakes."

The Northstars did face more adversity in their second game of the day. In the top of the first, the Chargers took advantage of several walks and an error to take a 3-0 lead. But the Northstars quickly responded in the bottom of the first. After two singles to start the inning, Reno and Berreth scored on passed balls to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Great Falls scored in the top of the second to push the lead to 4-2. In the bottom of the fourth, Havre responded with an RBI double from Tanner Delarosa to cut the deficit to 4-3. Then in the bottom of the fifth, McKay tied the game with an RBI single.

Later in the fifth, Shipp gave the Northstars the lead with an RBI single to right field. McKay then scored on a sacrifice fly to push Havre's lead to 6-4. After trailing to start the game, the Northstars had battled their way back.

"It was just the guys sticking to it," Wirtzberger said about the comeback. "The response in the bottom of the first was big. To get a couple runs to say we're still here and we're still going to play hard. And then we just kept chipping away at it the rest of the game. The guys just showed a lot of grit."

The Chargers tried to respond with a run to cut Havre's lead to 6-5 in the top of the sixth. But the Northstars kept pushing it in the bottom of the sixth. Berreth drove in a run with a triple to right. McKay then drove in another run with a single to make it an 8-5 game.

The Northstars recorded three quick outs in the top of the seventh to close out the game. Shipp picked up the win at pitcher as he pitched the last three innings of the game. During that stretch, he allowed two hits, one run and one walk, and he recorded four strikeouts.

"I was just focusing on the batter and focusing on the job that I had to do," Shipp said about closing out the game on the mound for the Northstars.

At the plate, McKay went 3-4 with two RBIs. Berreth also played well as he went 3-4 with an RBI and Reno went 3-4 at the plate.

With the wins, the Northstars improved their record to 6-4 this season. As the Northstars move forward into the thick of their season, they will look to stay hot at the plate.

"We'd like to stay at a high level offensively so we can stay in a lot of ball games," Wirtzberger said. "We'll sharpen our tools on defense and on the mound and we'll get after it next weekend."

The Havre Northstars will next play the Laurel Dodgers in a doubleheader on the road this Saturday at 1 p.m.

Havre 14, Great Falls 2

GF 0 0 2 0 0 X X - 2 5 0

HAV 4 5 5 0 X X X - 14 13 2

WP - Kale Reno

LP - W. Parsons

Havre Batting - Kale Reno 3-4, Drake Berreth 2-3, Conner McKay 1-1, Tommy Lewis 0-1, Jevin Jenkins 2-2, Terek Shipp 3-3, Ezra Pyle 1-2, Tyson Brandon 1-3, Logan Kinsella 0-2, Chason Mader 0-2.

Havre 8, Great Falls 5

GF 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 5 5 1

HAV 2 0 0 1 3 2 X - 8 12 2

WP - Terek Shipp

LP - C. Pace

Havre Batting - Kale Reno 3-4, Drake Berreth 3-4, Conner McKay 3-4, Jevin Jenkins 1-4, Terek Shipp 1-3, Ezra Pyle 0-1, Tanner Delarosa 1-3, Logan Kinsella 0-3, Quinn Elliot 0-3.