George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
Baseball is a game of momentum,
and it certainly is a game of
streaks. The season is long and
teams get as hot and cold as the
weather.
That is the case right now for
both the Havre Northstars and
Havre Comets American Legion
baseball teams as they enter the
midway point of the 2006
American Legion Class A season.
As far as streaks go, it
appears that the Havre
Northstars may never lose again.
This past weekend, the
Northstars put up impressive
back-to-back wins against Class A
defending state champion
Gallatin Valley and Class A powerhouse
Glacier at the Havre
Jamboree. The Northstars shut
out Gallatin Valley, 8-0 and
knocked around the Glacier
Twins, 7-1. They were also scheduled
to play another pair of Class
A stalwarts in the Bitterroot Bucs
and the Kalispell Lakers, but rain
forced the cancellation of the rest
of the tournament.
The wins last Thursday and
Friday upped the Northstars’
overall record to 16-6 on the season.
But more importantly, Havre
hasn’t lost a game since early
May and is currently riding a
seven-game winning streak. The
Northstars enter Wednesday
night’s Northern District showdown
with the Havre Comets in
first place in the district standings.
The Northstars’ recent hot
streak has come by way of a lot
of offense and some outstanding
pitching performances. Havre
head coach Mickey Williams
hasn’t had to go to his bullpen for
weeks, getting complete-game
performances from his entire
starting rotation. Last week at
the Havre Jamboree, the
Northstars got solid completegame
outings from staff ace
Chase Castloo and hurler Austin
Small. Veteran pitcher John
Christian has also went the distance
in his last two starts, and
Tanner Donovan likewise has
two straight completegame outings.
At the plate, the Northstars
recovered from a slow start to the
season in which they had trouble
producing and scoring runs. Now,
Havre is an RBI machine and the
Northstars are getting production
from their entire roster. Sean
Peterson has been the setup man
for the Northstars in the leadoff
spot. He leads the team in stolen
bases, but has also driven in his
share of runs on he season.
Bryan Heath, Jeremiah Moog,
Anthony Wirtzberger along with
Castloo, Small and Donovan are
all tearing the cover off the ball
at the moment, and as a result,
the Northstars have upped their
runs per game average all the
way to over eight per seven
innings.
The Northstars have a tough
stretch of tournament play
upcoming. They will be at the
Gallatin Valley tournament in
Bozeman this weekend and the
Bitterroot Red Sox tournament on
June 23-25.
On the flip side of the coin is
the Havre Comets. The Comets
have struggled during the last 30
days and enter Wednesday
night’s game with the Northstars
losers of eight straight games.
Overall, the Comets have a 6-13 record.
During most of the difficult
stretch, the Comets have had
trouble scoring runs and in general,
backing up what has been a
solid pitching
staff. The Comets have gotten
good outings on the mound from
Andrew Lindquist, Jeremy Jensen, Seth
Jensen and Todd Roe, as well as solid
relief work from Kyle Surber. However,
defensively, and at the dish is where the
Comets have failed to make up any
ground. Up until the Havre Jamboree,
the Comets were averaging close
to just four runs per seven
innings, and they were committing
almost as many errors per game.
But on Thursday and Friday
night in Havre, the Comets’
offense showed signs of life at the
plate, scoring enough runs to
hang with Class A powerhouse
Columbus for five innings, and
surprising many by staying with
the Gallatin Valley Outlaws for
five innings as well. Over the last
two games, Scott Vigliotti,
Marshall Cartwright, Jensen and
Roe all hit the ball hard for the
Comets. The offense against the
Outlaws was especially encouraging
as the Comets enter the heart
of the district season.
The Comets have three
straight district games at home
before they embark on a road trip
that will take them almost all the
way to the district tournament.
Wednesday night’s game
between the Havre Comets and
Havre Northstars is the final regular
season meeting between the
two teams. The nine-inning game
is scheduled to get under way at 7
p.m. at Legion Park
