Northstars keep up winning ways at home

With the postseason right around the corner, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club is hoping to end the regular season on a strong note. If the first four games this past weekend at Legion Field are any indication, the Northstars will not have to worry about that.

On Friday, the Northstars split a doubleheader with the Lethbridge Miners with a 2-1 loss and then a 7-2 win. Then in a doubleheader Saturday against the Medicine Hat Knights, the Northstars ended on a sweep with an 11-1 and a 6-1 victory.

While he thinks they could have played better, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger was happy with the results.

"Inconsistency is still plaguing us but it's getting better every game," Wirtzberger said. "There's something to be said for getting the job done, and we keep on doing that."

The Northstars started Friday with a 2-1 loss to the Lethbridge Miners. In a slow game on offense for both teams, nobody scored until the top of the second inning. After he got on base thanks to an error, Jevin Jenkins scored on a sacrifice fly to give Havre the lead.

But the Miners responded in the bottom of the third inning. With the bases loaded with no outs, a groundout allowed a runner to score to tie the game. After loading the bases again, another groundout allowed a runner to score to give Lethbridge the 2-1 lead.

Throughout the rest of the game, both teams struggled to produce at the plate. The Northstars failed to score the rest of the game, resulting in Lethbridge winning its fourth straight game against Havre this summer. As a team, the Northstars finished the game with no hits.

"You got to give their pitcher a lot of credit. He was doing a lot of good things up there making us miss and hit weak balls," Wirtzberger said. "But we hit a lot of hard balls that went right at them and the guys battled and had opportunities to tie and go ahead in that one and we just couldn't do it."

If there was one positive for the Northstars in that first game, it was the pitching performance of Brody Nanini. While he was given the loss, Nanini allowed four hits, two earned runs and two walks in a complete game for the Northstars.

Later on Friday night, the Northstars rebounded with a 7-2 win over the Lethbridge Miners. After a sluggish start to the night, the Northstars got going from the jump in the top of the first. After getting two men on base, Terek Shipp drove in a run with a double to left field. Jenkins followed that up with a single to center that cleared the bases to push the lead to 3-0.

Looking to stay in the game, the Miners responded in the bottom of the second. After two singles to open the inning, another single drove in a run to get Lethbridge on the scoreboard. Another single drove in another run to cut Havre's lead to 3-2.

After several slow innings, the Northstars extended their lead in the top of the sixth. After hitting a single earlier in the inning, Drake Berreth scored on an error to make it a 4-2 game.

In the top of the seventh, the Northstars continued to add onto their lead. With two men on base, Conner McKay hit a single to center to drive in a run. Shipp then stole home base to add onto the lead. Berreth then capped off the inning with an RBI single to center to give Havre a 7-2 lead.

The Northstars recorded three quick outs in the bottom of the seventh to close out the win. Tanner Delarosa earned the win as he pitched a complete game for the Northstars. In 7.0 innings, Delarosa allowed four hits, two earned runs and four walks, and he recorded three strikeouts. Along with Nanini earlier in the night, Delarosa demonstrated the skills of the Northstar pitching staff against Lethbridge.

"Our pitching was really good," Wirtzberger said. "Late in the year, pitching has been good and we're very proud of those guys for sticking to it."

Many Northstars had strong games to end the night. At the plate, Berreth went 3-4 with an RBI and Jenkins went 2-4 with two RBIs. After only scoring one run in the previous game, seven runs and 11 hits as a team was a good way to end the night.

"I just think we were super focused from the first pitch," Wirtzberger said. "We had a couple breaks that went our way and against good teams, if you take advantage of those, you're going to win a lot of ball games."

The Northstars stayed hot with an 11-1 win over the Medicine Hat Knights Saturday afternoon. In the bottom of the second, the Northstars took the lead thanks to an RBI single from Colter Solomon.

Later in the bottom of the fourth, Tyson Brandon hit a single to left to drive in another run for Havre. Later in the inning, Solomon and Brandon scored on an error to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Knights finally scored in the top of the fifth, but the Northstars responded in force in the back half of the inning. With two runners on to start the fifth, Kale Reno drove in a run with a double to center. Berreth and Reno then scored on a pair of passed balls to extend the lead to 7-1.

Later in the inning, Ezra Pyle kept it rolling with an RBI single to center. Shipp then drove in a run with a single to right to make it a 9-1 game. Pyle then scored when he stole home plate. McKay then ended the game in five innings with a double to left, driving in a run for an 11-1 lead. After a slow start to the game, Wirtzberger liked how the Northstars produced at the plate late in the game.

"It's just good focus. Just a little bit more tuned in in the later innings," Wirtzberger said. "We had good at bats, we were executing throughout the offense and doing things the right way so that's what leads to a productive offense."

McKay went 2-3 with an RBI while Pyle went 1-4 with three RBIs in the game. On the mound, Jenkins earned the win as he allowed five hits, one run and six walks, and he recorded three strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched.

The Northstars ended Saturday with a 6-1 win over the Medicine Hat Knights. The Knights did strike first as they took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Northstars eventually took control.

In the bottom of the first with two runners on, McKay hit a single to clear the bases and give Havre the 2-1 lead. Then in the bottom of the second, an RBI single from Nanini pushed the lead to 3-1. Later in the inning, McKay drove in two runs with a bunt. Berreth then hit an RBI single to center to give Havre a 7-1 lead.

The Northstars failed to score the rest of the way, but solid pitching and defense held Medicine Hat scoreless as well to secure the win. Lane Kinsella pitched a complete game where he allowed one hit, one run and four walks. After four games allowing two runs or less to start the weekend, Wirtzberger likes how the defense has played.

"Pitching and defense was very solid. We're executing through all facets, hitting cuts, making plays, and turning a couple double plays," Wirtzberger said. "I'm really pleased with where we're at right now and you can't say enough about the pitching. Guys are in the zone, challenging hitters and trusting their defense behind them which is everything you can ask for."

In the final game Saturday, McKay went 2-4 with four RBIs. Nanini also went 2-3 with an RBI while Berreth went 1-3 with an RBI. At the end of Saturday, the Northstars have an overall record of 37-16-1 this season.

The Havre Daily News will have coverage of Sunday's Northstar games against the Vauxhall Spurs in Tuesday's paper.

Lethbridge 2, Havre 1

HAV 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 0 5

LET 0 0 2 0 0 0 X - 2 4 2

WP - J. McNeill

LP - Brody Nanini

Havre Batting - Ezra Pyle 0-3, Drake BErreth 0-3, Brody Nanini 0-2, Conner McKay 0-2, Jevin Jenkins 0-3, Terek Shipp 0-3, Kale Reno 0-3, Chason Mader 0-1, Tanner Delarosa 0-1.

Havre 7, Lethbridge 2

HAV 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 - 7 11 1

LET 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 4 3

WP - Tanner Delarosa

LP - J. Olson

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

Havre 11, Medicine Hat 1

MH 0 0 0 0 1 X X - 1 5 3

HAV 0 1 0 3 7 X X - 11 10 1

WP - Jevin Jenkins

LP - J. Harnett

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

Havre 6, Medicine Hat 1

MH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 1 0

HAV 2 4 0 0 0 0 X - 6 10 0

WP - Lane Kinsella

LP - N. Kunkel

Havre Batting - Brody Nanini 2-3, Ezra Pyle 2-4, Terek Shipp 1-2, Conner McKay 2-4, Drake Berreth 1-3, Kale Reno 0-1, Quinn Elliot 0-1, Tommy Lewis 1-3, Chason Mader 1-2, Lane Kinsella 0-1.