Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
After a couple of easy league wins, the Havre Comets American Legion baseball team took one step closer to their goal of reaching the Northern A district tournament. The Comets were hitting on all cylinders Tuesday at Legion Field, leading to a two-game sweep of the Fort MacLeod Royals by scores of 21-3 and 16-4 in doubleheader action. The two victories pushed the Comets’ conference winning streak to six games, as they hope to close in on Medicine Hat for the final berth in the district tournament later this month in Great Falls. “It’s really been kind of a roller coaster year for us,” Comets head coach Dan Wirtzberger said. “We have had some really high times and we have also had some really low times. Right now, we just need to try and keep duplicating the highs and getting rid of the lows.” The Comets got a dominating performance on the mound in the opening game against Fort MacLeod from starting pitcher Paul Jensen. Jensen earned the win after giving up just three runs on five hits in five strong innings. He also struck out three batters and walked only one in the win. Jensen also had a big day at the plate going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, including a two-run double in the second inning that scored Kyle Miller and Shane Kemmer to give the Comets a commanding 10-1 lead. Logan Cisar got the loss for the Royals after getting knocked around for 13 runs on eight hits in just two innings of work. “We are just getting good pitching from our big arms,” Wirtzberger said. The Royals showed some fight in the second game of the doubleheader by jumping out to a 2-0 after a RBI-double by Hayden Shackel and Cisar scoring on a passed ball. However, the Royals lead wouldn’t last long as Brett Normandy tied the game up in the second inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Josh Haas. The Royals regained the lead in the top of the third on an RBI-double by Cisar and a run-scoring single by Dayton Watts that gave them a 4-2 lead. But, in the bottom half of the third inning the Havre offense exploded leaving the Royals in their dust. Kemmer, Haas, Cam Schilling, Tyler Olthoff, Normandy and Beau Briese all had RBIs, in a nine-run inning for the Comets which gave them an overwhelming 11-2 advantage. Havre added five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to make the score 16-4, and when the Royals failed to score in the fifth the game was over. Kemmer got the win for the Comets after surrendering just four runs on seven hits. He also struck out three and walked just one. Shackle was the losing pitcher for the Royals. Miller, Nick Nault, Kemmer, Jensen and Briese all recorded two hits apiece to help spark the Comets to victory. Normandy added a pair of RBIs, while Kemmer and Haas pitched in with three runs scored. Miller, Schilling and Olthoff all added two runs, respectively. The Comets are in Kalispell today for a tournament hosted by the Kalispell Lakers. The tournament runs through Sunday. Comets 21, Royals 3 Fort MacLeod 012 00 3 5 6 Havre 1128 0x 21 13 3 WP Paul Jensen LP Logan Cisar Fort MacLeod Jordan Scirra 0-3, Geordie Paton 1-3, Shawn Mackenzie 1-2, Mason Bond 1-3, Logan Cisar 0-3, Joe Sibrowey 1-2, Ethan Elias 1- 2, Taylor Makin 0-2, Cade Lamb 0-2. Havre Kyle Miller 2-3. Adam Briese 1-3, Shane Kemmer 1-4, Paul Jensen 2-3, Beau Briese 2-4, Josh Haas 2-3, Gavin Sietnicki 1-2, Nick Nault 1-2, Brettt Normandy 1-4. Comets 16, Royals 4 Fort MacLeod 202 00 4 7 7 Havre 119 5 x 16 11 0 WP Shane Kemmer LP Hayden Shackel Fort MacLeod Joe Giboeny 1-3, Shawn Mackenzie 0-2, Mason Rond 1-3, Gordie Paton 1- 3, Hayden Shackel 1-2, Logan Cisar 1-3, Ethan Elias 0-2, Dayton Watt0-2, Cade Lamb 1-2, Luke Lavorato 1-2. Havre Kyle Miller 2-3. Nick Nault 2-4, Shane Kemmer 2-3, Paul Jensen 2-4, Beau Briese 2-3, Josh Haas 1-1, Cam Schilling 0-2, Tyler Olthoff 0- 1, Brett Normandy 0-2.
