Havre 12-U team comes from way behind to win state championship in Lewistown; Havre 14-U team finishes in second place
George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com
First the Havre High girls fastpitch team had a season it will never forget earlier in the spring by reaching the Class A state tournament for the first time in HHS history. And the fun hasn’t stopped for fastpitch players of all ages in Havre this summer. This past weekend in Lewistown, both the Havre 12-U and 14-U girls fastpitch softball teams found success on the diamond, including one thrilling state championship victory. The Havre 12-U team needed an extra day, and every possible inning of the tournament, but it still managed to capture the state 12-U championship in dramatic fashion. Havre suffered a 12-0 loss early in the tournament on Saturday, but battled back through the loser-out bracket with a 9-6 win against Livingston, and a 4-3 win against Glendive to reach the championship game. The only downside to reaching the final was that in order to capture the championship, Havre had to beat host Lewistown twice. And that is exactly what it did. In the first game, Havre outlasted Lewistown, 14-13 in a slugfest. Because of Babe Ruth rules, the win meant that the second championship game would have to be played on Monday, because Havre had already played its limit of games over the weekend.
And on Monday, Havre exacted some more revenge on Lewistown by riding the solid pitching of Jordan LaSalle and Devyn Carpenter to a 4-0 shutout, and a coveted state championship. Havre’s defense was strong in the title game, as it committed just three errors in six innings. Havre’s pitching was also solid throughout. Aside from the outstanding efforts of LaSalle and Carpenter in the championship game, Havre also got great pitching from Katie Gilge and Davee McLeod. The state championship team is composed of Michaela Boles, Masha Barnekoff, Kassala Holdsclaw, Jaclyn Evans, Andrea Nault, Dylan Williams, Crystal Robinson, Paighton Gilman, Breanna LaValley, as well as McLeod, Carpenter, LaSalle and Gilge. The team is coached by Paul McLeod and Curt Barnekoff. Lewistown was also a good place this weekend for the Havre 14-U team, which with little time to prepare, finished in second place overall. Like the 12-U team, Havre had to battle back from an early loss, which it suffered at the hands of Livingston, 14-4 in its opening game. But Havre showed its resiliency by knocking off Glasgow 12-11 and shutting out Lewistown 10-0 to reach the championship tilt. However, Livingston turned out to be too much for Havre, walking away with the title with a 13-3 win. The Havre 14-U team is composed of Logan Bunton, Abi Ita, Amanda Hanson, Chelsea Nottingham, Kaylee Schubert, Kelli Kelsey, Holly Cartwright, Courtney Bricker, Tianna Drew, Emily Boyce, Lauren Bunton, Jasmine Chagnon and Laura Evans. The team is coached by Janine Donovan and Joe Cartwright.
