Havre splits first two games of Northwest Regionals

The time has finally arrived for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club as the Northwest Regional Tournament has begun at Legion Field. As the host team, the Northstars wanted to compete against the many great teams coming from out of state. And through the first two games of the tournament, the Northstars did just that.

The Northstars opened the tournament with a 1-0 win over the Ridgeline Wolverines. Then Saturday night, the Northstars played a competitive game against the Powell Pioneers, but ultimately lost 4-3. In their first time hosting the regional tournament, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger likes the effort from the Northstars.

"Guys have played extremely hard. We've played very aggressively and we played some really good baseball," Wirtzberger said. "Unfortunately, we didn't come up with a win on Saturday. Those guys played a heck of a ballgame and you have to give credit where credit's due."

The Northstars started the tournament Friday with their 1-0 win over the Ridgeline Wolverines. Ridgeline qualified for the regional tournament after winning the Utah state championship.

Through the first two innings, neither team broke through to score to take the lead. Then in the bottom of the second inning, lightning and rain began a delay that lasted for about two-and-a-half hours.

It was almost midnight when the Northstars and Wolverines finally got back into action. As the Northstars returned to the diamond after the long delay, they knew they had to quickly get back into game mode if they wanted to win the game.

"I think we just really needed to focus up after that little bit of a delay because if we didn't focus up, it was probably going to go downhill from there," Kale Reno said. "Because of that long break, it's hard to get back into your groove and stay warm and all that."

The Northstars' focus showed in the bottom of the third when they took the lead. Chason Mader started the inning by reaching first base on a dropped third strike. After Mader worked his way to third base, he scored on a single from Ezra Pyle.

That was the lone run the Northstars scored in the game, but thankfully Reno had a great game on the mound. In 6.1 innings pitched, Reno allowed four hits, no runs and he recorded 11 strikeouts. Reno believes it took him awhile to find his rhythm, but once he did, he was locked in on the mound.

"The first two innings were kind of iffy for me because it was a 30-pitch inning but I just needed to get back in my groove and make sure I threw strikes and pitched to the my team," Reno said.

Despite Reno's strong game, the Wolverines threatened in the top of the seventh. With a runner on and one out, relief pitcher Brody Nanini walked a batter and then hit another batter with a pitch to load the bases. But Nanini was able to get a fielder's choice and a strikeout to end the game and win it for Havre.

"I was just relying on my teammates and I just wanted to get them the ball," Nanini said about closing out the win. "It was just a team effort all night."

With the win, the Northstars advanced in the tournament to face the Powell Pioneers Saturday night. While the Northstar's played competitively Saturday night, they ended up losing, 4-3, to the Wyoming state champions.

The Northstars had their opportunities early in the game. In the bottom of the second, the Northstars loaded the bases with no outs. But Powell's defense prevented Havre from scoring any runs as the game remained scoreless at the end of the inning.

"We left a lot of guys on base all day," Wirtzberger said about the second inning. "Another heck of a play by their shortstop where he got the out at home deep in the hole and that's just a play that you don't expect to happen. It takes guts to even attempt that play and let alone execute it."

The Pioneers then got it going in the top of the third with a couple runs to take the lead. Then in the top of the fifth, the Pioneers took advantage of Havre's mistakes to score another pair of runs to stretch the lead to 4-0.

Despite the deficit, the Northstars did not give up. In the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded, a walk drove in Jevin Jenkins for the run. Conner McKay then scored on a fielder's choice. Later in the inning with the bases loaded again, another walk drove in Colter Solomon for the run to make it a 4-3 game.

"The guys were seeing it really well," Wirtzberger said about the Northstars in the sixth inning. "They were laying off pitches outside of the zone and making that guy throw pitches that we could handle and we got a couple hits, a couple walks, pushed a few across and then made another nice play."

The Northstars threatened in the bottom of the seventh as they got two runners on base. But the Pioneers recorded three straight outs to end the game. Terek Shipp was given the loss on the mound as he allowed seven hits, two earned runs and four walks in 6.0 innings pitched. At the plate, McKay went 4-4 and scored a run.

The Havre Northstars continued the Northwest Regional Tournament Sunday at Legion Field with an elimination game against the Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen. Coverage of that game will be in Tuesday's edition of the Havre Daily News.

Friday

Havre 1, Ridgeline 0

RID 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 0

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

WP - Kale Reno

LP - Samuel Swan

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

Saturday

Powell 4, Havre 3

POW 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 - 4 7 1

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

WP - Jacob Gibson

LP - Terek Shipp

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