Red-hot North Stars head to Williston

On the heels of a five-game winning streak, including two come-from-behind wins in two days, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team will look to keep its roll going this weekend, all the way in Williston, North Dakota.

The North Stars will be in Williston for an annual invitational baseball tournament. Havre will play its first two games of pool play today, facing Black Hills, North Dakota at 3:30, then Williston tonight at 7. The North Stars will also play Friday at 3:30 p.m., against the IP Prospects.

"It's a tournament, so we want to go there and be competitive and win games," North Stars head coach Dick Fuzesy said. "But it will also be a chance for us to try some new things, get a few extra kids playing time in different spots and things like that. It's nice when it's non-conference, because you still want to win and it's competitive but you can out some things too."

The biggest reason why the North Stars have been so successful during this five-game stretch, has been their offense. Havre has scored eight or more runs in five consecutive games and three times, they scored 10 runs or more.

A big part of that success has been due to on-base percentage, where the North Stars are excelling. As a team, they are getting on base at a .477 clip, which goes along with the team-batting average of .389.

In terms of individual batting average, Trey Murphy is the team leader as he is hitting .583. He also has eight RBI and an on-base percentage of .683, another team high. Kelden Sullivan, who hits leadoff for the North Stars, has also been stellar. He's hitting .457 and has an on-base percentage of .537. He also has eight RBI and 11 runs scored. The first-year North Star also leads the team in doubles with four, followed closely by Murphy, Kennedy McKay and Gavin Mosbrucker, who is also hitting .500 on the season.

Brendan Garden has been another highly productive hitter for the North Stars, with a batting average just above .400 and an on-base percentage of .586. Brenden Danielson has also been dangerous, hitting .407 and with an on-base percentage .568. He also leads the team in runs scored with 14. Tony Antley is leading the team will 11 RBI.

Yet, as good the offense has been this season, Fuzesy said he is still looking for more. He said it may seem greedy, but that his team needs to do a better job of going in for the kill when the opportunity presents itself.

"We have to starting 10-running people and getting them with that run rule," Fuzesy said. "We have to learn to step on the throat a little bit. I know that is greedy to ask, but I think that's the kind of team that we can be. And if we can run rule somebody, we should try to do it. That's the mentality I want us to have."

While hitting has been a huge part of the equation for the North Stars, the pitching has also been solid. Garden, the ace of the staff, will get at least one start this weekend and comes in with a record of 3-0, as well as an ERA of 2.09. He also had 19 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. Mosbrucker has been solid in relief, while Austin Delarosa, Brenden Danielson and Kennedy McKay have all been solid starters. Murphy, Antley, Ethan Roberts and Jake Sedahl are the other arms at Fuzesy's disposal.

After pool play today, Friday and Saturday morning, the tournament portion of the invitational will get underway. The seeding is based off how each team fared in its pool, then each team is guaranteed multiple games in the tournament, as the first, third, fifth and seventh-place finishers will all be decided on the field.

Havre opens the Williston tournament today, with games at 3:30 and 7. The tournament will run through Saturday, when a champion will be crowned.