George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com
They say that lightning never strikes in the same place twice. But in the case of the Fort MacLeod Royals American Legion baseball team, it pretty much struck three times. In a doubleheader that was interrupted by severe weather on Monday night at Legion Field, the Havre Northstars used middle-inning offensive explosions in both games to overwhelm and sweep the Royals by scores of 10-1 and 10-0. In the first game of the doubleheader, Havre scored eight times in two innings to pull away from the pesky Royals. Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Northstars rallied to score four runs, including a run-scoring single by Austin Small. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Small would drive in another run, and Sean Peterson and Logan Reichelt added backto- back RBI doubles to give the Northstars a commanding 9-0 lead. Although Havre collected just nine hits in the game, in those two innings combined, the Northstars sent 16 batters to the plate during the barrage. Scott Vigliotti added and RBI double in the sixth inning to put Havre even farther ahead. And that lead was more than enough for starter John Christian, who gave the Northstars a complete-game win. Christian scattered seven hits and the Royals managed just one run as he struck out five and walked just one batter. Dayton Watt took the loss for the Royals. At the plate, Peterson was 2-for-4 with a run, two RBIs and a stolen base. Small was also 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. In the nitecap, the Northstars again took their time getting the bats going. But in a scoreless game in the bottom of the fourth, Havre hammered Fort MacLeod starter Ethan Elias to the tune of seven runs to take an insurmountable 7-0 lead. Peterson started the rally with a single, and the Northstars would reel off three more singles before Jeremiah Moog delivered the big blow with a two-run triple to left field. Two batters later, Anthony Wirtzberger came up and doubled to left field, scoring another run to make the score 7-0. And like in game one, that was more than enough run support for Havre’s pitching and defense. Northstar’s starter Tanner Donovan had his breaking ball working in a complete-game shutout that included just two Fort MacLeod hits, seven strikeouts and one walk on just 82 pitches. Offensively, Moog’s triple was the big hit of the game, and he added two runs scored and two RBIs. Peterson, Christian, Wirtzberger and Bryan Heath also drove in runs for Havre. The sweep of the Royals meant that the Northstars beat Fort MacLeod four times in the last four days. Havre (27-11) also swept the Royals in a doubleheader on Friday in Canada. The Royals will remain in Havre to face the Havre Comets in a Northern District doubleheader today at 3 p.m. at Legion Field. The Northstars will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Billings for a two-day tournament. Monday Northstars 10, Royals 1 Fort MacLeod 000 001 0 1 7 3 Havre 010 441 x 10 9 1 WP John Christian LP Dayton Watt Fort MacLeod Jordan Sciarra 1-3, Ethan Elias 1-3, Shawn Mackenzi 0-3, Mason Bond 1-3, Joe Gibboney 0- 3, Hayden Shack 1-3, Logan Cisar 2-3, Taylor Makin 1-3, Goerdie Paton 0-1. Havre Sean Peterson 2-4, Logan Reichelt 2-4, Ryan Callahan 0-3, Bryan Heath 0-1, Tanner Donovan 1-3, Jeremiah Moog 0-3, Anthony Wirtzberger 1-4, Scott Vigliotti 1-1, Austin Small 2-4. Northstars 10, Royals 0 Fort MacLeod 000 000 0 0 2 3 Havre 000 712 x 10 7 0 WP Tanner Donovan LP Ethan Elias Fort MacLeod Jordan Sciarra 0-2, Shawn Mack 1-3, Mason Bond 1-3, Hayden Shack 0-2, Joe Gibboney 0-2, Logan Cisar 0-2, Dayton Watt 0-1, Luke Lavorato 0-2, Cade Lamb 0-1. Havre Sean Peterson 1-4, John Christian 2-3, Ryan Callahan 1-3, Bryan Heath 1-3, Jeremiah Moog 1-2, Logan Reichelt 0-1, Anthony Wirtzberger 1-3, Scott Ladenburg 0-3, Andrew Lindquist 0-3.
