By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The Havre Northstars have done it again.
The Northstars, playing in the loser out bracket at the American Legion Northwest Pacific Class A Regional Tournament at Glendive, defeated Salem, Ore., 6-4 Monday night. Havre handed Salem its first loss of the tournament.
The win advanced the Northstars into the 5 p.m. game Tuesday against Burley, Idaho, in the true semifinal match-up. Burley defeated Havre, 12-2, on Saturday. It was the first post-season Northstar loss in 10 games.
All three teams, Havre, Burley and Salem, have one loss each in the true double-elimination tournament.
Against Salem Monday, Havre smashed three home runs and scattered 10 hits in the win. Ricky Brown nailed one over the fence and went 2-for-3 from the plate.
Alan Mapes only two hits of the game were sent out of Meisner Field. He went 2-for-4 in the contest. Mapes also collected the win from the mound. He is 2-0 at the regional tournament and 5-0 pitching in post-season tournament play.
Josh Lybecker went 2-for-3 and Nate Baltrusch went 2-for-4 from the plate.
Havre scored first in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Northstars rallied in the third inning for three runs which lifted Havre to a 4-0 lead. The fifth inning saw two more Northstar runs and a 6-1 lead.
Salem scored in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings, before the game expired with Havre on top, 6-4.
The winner of the 5 p.m. contest will face Salem in the championship contest at 7:30 p.m.
