North Stars jam to the sounds of winning

In the fifth inning of Sunday's game against Medicine Hat, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team found itself down at 11-3 and one half an inning away from being run ruled.

However, in the bottom half of the inning, with two outs, one out from the game being over, the North Stars finally woke up and from that point on, they didn't look back, scoring nine straight runs to earn a dramatic 12-11 win.

The victory came at Legion Field, in what was the final game of the Havre Jamboree. Over the four-day baseball fest, the North Stars posted a record of 3-1. They opened with a loss Thursday to Glasgow 5-1, but rebounded to beat Scobey 9-1 Friday night and Calgary 10-5 Saturday.

"I thought it was a great weekend," North Stars head coach Dick Fuzesy said. "The kids played really hard and besides some bad weather Thursday and a little wind, the weather was great. We had a great atmosphere and every team got to play a lot of games, so it was a lot of fun."

While the jamboree as a whole was a success, the North Stars might have felt different about their effort, if not for Sunday's comeback win, which started in the bottom of the fifth, when Brenden Danielson singled in a run with two outs to make it 11-4, ensuring the game would go another inning at least.

Yet, the North Stars were far from finished in the inning. A few batters later, Tony Antley found himself at the plate with the bases loaded and got a base hit, scoring two runs. Then a double by Trey Murphy plated two more runs and suddenly, it was 11-8 going to the sixth.

After Gavin Mosbrucker, who came in relief of starting pitcher Jake Sedahl, retired the Majestics in order in the top of the sixth, the North Stars again found themselves with two outs in the bottom half of the inning. But again Havre managed a two-out rally.

Antley drew a walk to score a run, which made it 11-9. Then back-to-back RBI singles from Murphy and Brendan Garden tied the game at 11-11. Neither team managed to score in the seventh inning, which sent the contest into extra innings.

"I told the kids we just needed one run to keep the game going," Fuzesy said. "And then we got five in that inning and we were able to tie it up. It was a great experience for us because we lost a game like this earlier in the season. So it was nice to see us experience that and have it go our way this time."

Mosbrucker, who has excelled in a relief role this season, retired the side without trouble again in the top of the eight, only to find himself in trouble in the top of the ninth. Medicine Hat advanced a runner to third with two outs. Then, a chopper to third, sent the runner sprinting home, but Garden, the third baseman, threw him out at the plate. Kennedy McKay also made a stellar play at short for the third out in the ninth, setting the stage for Havre to win the game in the bottom half.

Garden, who came up with a clutch hit in the sixth, delivered a base hit and was then moved over to third thanks to sacrifices from Kelden Sullivan and Ethan Roberts. That brought Sedahl to the plate, needing only a hit to win the game. However, on the first pitch, he hit a can of corn. Fortunately for the North Stars, Medicine Hat lost the ball in the sun and it dropped in the infield, allowing Garden, to take advantage of the error and score the game-winning run.

"I actually didn't see it drop," Fuzesy said. "But that was a good play from Brendan. Once I saw I knew it fell in and we won, I was happy. These guys battled and they kept fighting and that's what this is all about. This jamboree is a chance for us to play a lot of games and get better and I think we did that."

Murphy led the way for the North Stars at the plate, going 4-for-5, with four RBI. Antley also got two hits and four RBI, while Danielson added three hits and an RBI, along with Garden who had two hits and drove in a run. Mosbrucker, who pitched 4 ⅓ innings, got the win. He allowed just two hits and two runs, but none in the final four innings.

"That's what he does" Fuzesy said. "I told him I was going to ride him until the end because I didn't really have anyone else and he found a way to come through."

The win over Medicine Hat was the third consecutive for the North Stars, who beat another Canadian team Saturday night, knocking off the Calgary Redbirds 10-5. The North Stars spotted the Redbirds a 3-1 lead after two inning, but exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Sullivan started the inning off with a triple and scored later on an RBI single by Antley. Calvin White then singled in a run, as did McKay and Brady Ophus to put Havre in front 6-3. Havre added a run in the fourth, thanks to an RBI double by Cody Rennick, then in the bottom of the fifth, Antley doubled in two more runs to make the score 10-3. The North Stars allowed two runs in the sixth, but held on for the win.

Roberts got the win, after giving up zero runs and five hits in three innings of work. Sullivan and Antley each had two hits in the win, while Antley drove in a game-high four runs.

"We got a lot of our young kids in (Saturday),"Fuzesy said. "We got to try some different things and still won three games, so it was a good weekend for us."

The North Stars other win in the jamboree came Friday night against Scobey. And it was spurned on by another big inning, this time though, it happened in the bottom of the first. Sedahl helped Havre strike first with an RBI single. That was followed by run-scoring singles from Mosbrucker and Brady Ophus, making the lead 4-0.

It was 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth, when Ophus belted a triple, then made it home on an error. Sullivan doubled in a run next, followed by a sac fly from Roberts, which made it 7-1. To cap the inning, Danielson brought home another run with a double, putting the North Stars ahead 8-1. In the bottom of the fifth, McKay ended the game with an RBI single that put the run rule into effect. Antley got the win on the mound after surrendering just one run on five hits in five innings of work. He also struck out three.

"Kennedy, he did a nice job this weekend," Fuzesy said. "He made some really nice plays at short and that's kind of what we were hoping for when we played him there last year. He is becoming what we thought he could be. Tony also had a great weekend. He's a tough kid and he got some big hits for us and even did a nice job pitching."

Ophus led the way in the win with two hits, Sullivan, Sedahl, McKay, Danielson, Calvin White and Evan Davidson all added one hit each in the win.

The only thing keeping the North Stars from a 4-0 mark in the jamboree was a loss Thursday to Glasgow 5-1. The Reds scored three runs in the third and two more in the fourth to grab a 5-0 advantage. In the bottom of the fourth, the North Stars got on the board with an RBI single from Roberts, but the game was called at the end of the inning due to lightning, prematurely ending any hopes of a comeback.

Garden got the loss for Havre, as he gave up five runs on eight hits, while striking out four. Roberts and Caleb Allestad were the only North Stars to get hits in the win.

The North Stars are now 6-7 on the season and are scheduled to be back in action Tuesday at Legion Field, where they will host Tri-County in a Northern A District doubleheader. The first pitch is set to go out at 7 p.m.

Glasgow 5, Havre 1

Glasgow 030 2 - 5 8 0

Havre 000 1 - 1 2 1

LP: Garden

Havre batting - Kelden Sullivan 0-2, Brendan Garden 0-1, Jake Sedahl 0-2, Brenden Danielson 0-0, Gavin Mosbrucker 0-2, Trey Murphy 0-1, Ethan Roberts 1-2, Caleb Allestad 1-2, Tony Antley 0-1.

Havre 9, Scobey 1

Scobey - 001 00 - 1 5 2

Havre 400 41 - 9 10 2

WP: Tony Antley

Havre batting - Kelden Sullivan 1-2, Ethan Roberts 0-1, Jake Sedahl 1-2, Kennedy McKay 1-1, Brenden Danielson 1-3, Calvin White 1-3, Gavin Mosbrucker 1-2, Tony Antley 1-1, Caleb Allestad 0-0, Brady Ophus 2-2, Evan Davidson 1-1, Brendan Garden 0-2.

Havre 10, Calgary 5

Calgary 120 002 0 - 5 9 3

Havre 105 130 x - 10 10 3

Havre batting - Kelden Sullivan 2-2, Ethan Roberts 0-3, Jake Sedahl 0-2, Trey Murphy 1-2, Tony Antley 2-4, Calvin White 1-3, Cody Rennick 1-3, Breden Garden 0-1, Kennedy McKay 1-4, Caleb Allestad 1-3. Brady Ophus 1-4, Evan Davison 0-0.

WP: Ethan Roberts

Havre 12, Medicine Hat 11

Medicine Hat 200 090 000 - 11 12 1

Havre 030 053 001 - 12 14 2

WP: Gavin Mosbrucker

Havre batting - Kelden Sullivan 0-5, Ethan Roberts 0-6, Jake Sedahl 2-6, Brenden Danielson 3-4, Gavin Mosbrucker 1-4, Kennedy McKay 0-2, Tony Antley 2-4, Trey Murphy 4-5, Brendan Garden 2-4.