Northstars face adversity at Harold Gjerde Tournament

Heading into the Harold Gjerde Memorial Tournament in Lewistown this past weekend, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club was looking to continue to improve as a team. But against the stiff competition, the Northstars went 1-3 over the course of the weekend.

The Northstars started the tournament Thursday afternoon with a 14-5 loss to the Belgrade Bandits. The Bandits started strong as they got the bats going to take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Bandits then scored a run in both the bottom of the second and the bottom of the third to push their lead to 5-0.

After a slow start, the Northstars finally got going in the top of the fourth. With the bases loaded with no outs, Ezra Pyle drove in a run with a single to left field. Chason Mader then drove in another run with a single to center. Drake Berreth kept it going when he scored on a sacrifice fly from Tyson Brandon. Brody Nanini then drove in a pair of runs to tie the game 5-5.

But the Bandits retook control in the bottom of the fourth. After getting the bases loaded, a walk and a couple of hits drove in five runs to give Belgrade a 10-5 lead. The Bandits kept it rolling in the bottom of the fifth with four more runs to push the lead to 14-5.

The Northstars failed to score the rest of the way as they went on to lose their opening game of the tournament. On the mound, Kale Reno was given the loss as he allowed 12 hits, nine earned runs and recorded four strikeouts. At the plate, Nanini went 1-3 with two RBIs.

The Northstars continued the tournament Friday with a 12-11 loss to the Butte Miners. In the top of the first, Nanini scored on a wild pitch to give Havre the lead. But the Miners got rolling in the bottom of the first to take a 4-1 lead.

The Northstars responded in the top of the second. Early in the inning, Mader scored on an error. Terek Shipp then stole home to cut Havre's deficit to 4-3. Then in the top of the third, Mader hit a double to center to drive in a pair of runs to give Havre a 5-4 lead.

But the Miners got their offense rolling again in the bottom of the fourth to take a 10-5 lead. In the top of the fifth, Brandon drove in a pair of runs with a single to left. Brandon then scored after tagging up on a lineout to further cut into the deficit. Mader scored on an error and Conner McKay hit an RBI single to tie the game 10-10.

In the top of the sixth, the Northstars took an 11-10 lead when Brandon scored on a groundout. But the Miners scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game once again. Then in the bottom of the seventh, a double drove in the run for the walk-off victory for the Miners.

Berreth and Jevin Jenkins split time on the mound in the loss. Jenkins allowed three hits, five earned runs and five walks in three innings pitched while Berreth was given the loss as he allowed three hits and two runs. At the plate, Mader went 3-3 with two RBIs.

On Saturday morning, the Northstars rebounded with a 7-5 win over the Badrock 16U team. In the bottom of the first, the Northstars took the lead when McKay drove in a run with a double to left. However, Badrock scored a run in the top of the second to tie the game.

In the bottom of the second, Pyle gave the Northstars the lead again when he scored on a passed ball. Tanner Delarosa then scored on a sacrifice fly from Colter Solomon to make it a 3-1 game. But Badrock responded in the top of the fourth to tie the game 3-3.

The Northstars again surged ahead in the bottom of the fourth. Brandon gave Havre the lead again when he scored on an error. Berreth then hit a single to center to drive in a run for the Northstars. Reno then drove in another run with a single to center to give Havre a 6-3 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Delarosa scored on a sacrifice fly from Brandon to push Havre's lead to 7-3. Badrock attempted to come back in the top of the seventh and was able to cut its deficit to 7-5. But the Northstars recorded the final out to secure their first win of the tournament.

Lane Kinsella pitched all seven innings for the Northstars as he allowed six hits, four earned runs and he recorded four strikeouts. Both Pyle and Delarosa went 2-3 at the plate and Delarosa scored two runs for the Northstars.

But the Northstars suffered a 15-2 loss to the Lethbridge Miners later on Saturday. Havre took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Berreth drove in a run with a single to right. But the Miners' bats got rolling in the top of the second to take an 8-1 lead.

The Miners continued to roll in the top of the third as they pushed their lead to 11-1. Then in the top of the fourth, the Miners extended their lead to 14-1. The Miners scored another run in the top of the fifth to make it a 15-1 game.

The Northstars scored in the bottom of the fifth with a walk with the bases loaded. But that was all they could muster as the Miners closed it out in five innings for the win. Shipp was given the loss pitching as he allowed eight hits, two earned runs and three walks in 3.0 innings pitched. At the plate, Berreth went 1-3 with an RBI.

Rain canceled the Northstars' seeded game Sunday, so they ended the tournament with a 1-3 record. At the end of the weekend, the Northstars now have a 16-13-1 record this season. The Havre Northstars will look to rebound when they face the Lewistown Redbirds in a doubleheader at Legion Field this Wednesday starting at 5 p.m.

Belgrade 14, Havre 5

HAV 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 - 5 6 5

BEL 3 1 1 5 4 0 X - 14 15 1

WP - C. Livergood

LP - Kale Reno

Havre Batting - Brody Nanini 1-3, Terek Shipp 0-3, Conner McKay 1-4, Jevin Jenkins 1-2, Logan Kinsella 0-1, Drake Berreth 0-2, Ezra Pyle 1-2, Tanner Delarosa 0-2, Chason Mader 1-3, Tyson Brandon 1-2.

Butte 12, Havre 11

HAV 1 2 2 0 5 1 0 - 11 6 5

BUT 4 0 0 6 0 1 1 - 12 7 4

WP - T. Hansen

LP - Drake Berreth

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

Havre 7, Badrock 16U 5

BAD 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 - 5 6 3

HAV 1 2 0 3 1 0 X - 7 10 3

WP - Lane Kinsella

LP - Mack M.

Havre Batting - Brody Nanini 1-4, Terek Shipp 1-4, Conner McKay 1-4, Drake Berreth 1-4, Kale Reno 1-2, Ezra Pyle 2-3, Tanner Delarosa 2-3, Colter Solomon 0-2, Tyson Brandon 1-2.

Lethbridge 15, Havre 2

LET 0 8 3 3 1 X X - 15 10 2

HAV 1 0 0 0 1 X X - 2 2 4

WP - B. Weaver

LP - Terek Shipp

Havre Batting - Brody Nanini 0-1, Ezra Pyle 0-1, Jevin Jenkins 0-1, Drake Berreth 1-3, Kale Reno 0-1, Tyson Brandon 0-1, Tanner Delarosa 0-2, Colter Solomon 1-2, Logan Kinsella 0-1, Lane Kinsella 0-2, Chason Mader 0-1.