George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
To say the Havre Comets American
Legion baseball team is in need of a win
right now is a huge understatement.
The Comets are mired in a ninegame
losing streak that has them currently
sitting at 6-14 on the season.
On Sunday, the Comets will host the
Great Falls Sparkies in a Northern
District doubleheader with nothing more
than getting a win any way they can on
the agenda.
And if Wednesday’s performance
against the Havre Northstars is any
indication, the Comets appear headed
towards breaking out of their funk. The
Comets lost to the Northstars 13-7 on
Wednesday night at Legion Park, marking
the fourth time this season they
have lost to their crosstown rival.
However, unlike most of the games
they have played during their losing
skid, the Comets started to hit the ball
extremely well, and extremely hard on
Wednesday night, and they did something
else they haven’t done much of in
a while, drive in runs.
The Comets plated seven runs on 11
hits in what turned out to be a wild
affair, and they got plenty of production
from their entire batting order. Logan
Reichelt and Marshall Cartwright both
had big games at the plate against the
Northstars, as did Scott Vigliotti and
Ryan Callahan. The Comets’ hit parade
on Wednesday night was a continuation
of a process that started last Friday
when they surprisingly hit the ball well
in a close loss to the Gallatin Valley
Outlaws in the Havre Jamboree.
If the Comets continue to hit the ball
as consistently as they have in the last
two games, and they get solid pitching
this weekend from possible starters
Jeremy Jensen, Todd Roe, Seth Jensen
and Andrew Lindquist, then the Sparkies
could be in for a long day and the
Comets could get themselves back in the
thick of the district race.
Lindquist pitched extremely well
against the Northstars, and he has been
the Comets most consistent starter this
season. Whoever starts this weekend
will have to contend with a Sparkies’
lineup that is also starting to hit the ball
better than they were early in the season.
The Sparkies are led at the plate by
John Riley, Cody Schupe and Josh
Winterrowd. Darrin Halbrig and Corey
Fischer are two of the Sparkies’ top
pitchers, and the Comets could face one
or both of them on Sunday.
While the Comets continue to play at
home, the Havre Northstars are about to
embark on week-long road trip that will
take them to Bozeman today for the
Gallatin Valley Tournament, as well as
Lewistown next Tuesday and Hamilton
for the Bitteroot Red Sox tournament
next weekend.
The Northstars are in the midst of a
hot streak in which they have won eight
straight games, and in the process, have
given themselves a 17-6 overall record.
But today at the Gallatin Valley tournament,
the Northstars will have their
hands full with a plethora of potentially
dangerous teams in attendance. The
Gallatin Valley tourney will not only
feature the Class A defending state
champion Gallatin Valley Outlaws, a
team that Havre trounced 8-0 last
Thursday, but it will also feature quality
teams like Belgrade, Billings and the
Bozeman Bucs.
No matter the competition, if the
Northstars continue to play like they
have during their winning streak, then
they should return to Havre with three
more wins.
The Northstars have gotten it done
lately in every phase of the game. They
are hitting for a high team average
right now, they aren’t committing many
errors in the field, and they are getting
quality starts form what is blooming
into a great starting rotation.
The Northstars are led at the plate
by Sean Peterson, Chase Castloo, Bryan
Heath, Austin Small, Tanner Donovan
and Anthony Wirtzberger. Donovan and
Wirtzberger have been tearing the cover
off the ball as of late. And the starting
rotation has really come into its own.
Peterson, Small, Castloo, Donovan,
Jeremiah Moog and John Christian have
all picked up wins for the Northstars
over the last month.
The Northstars will be in action at
the Gallatin Valley tournament from
today until Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Comets will host the
Great Falls Sparkies on Sunday with the
first game scheduled to get under way
at 2 p.m. at Legion Park.
