North Stars play well as Northern A tourney hosts

The Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team was hoping to achieve two things over the weekend at the Northern A District Tournament.

One was ending its losing streak at districts. The other was qualifying for the Montana A State Tournament. The first goal was realized Friday, when the North Stars beat Tri-County 12-10 for their first district tournament win in several years. However, the other dream died Saturday morning, as Medicine Hat upended Havre 10-7 at Legion Field.

"We at least got a win at districts and got through to Saturday," North Stars head coach Dick Fuzesy said. "The kids kept fighting and they never quit. We wanted to go farther, but I was still happy with the effort. I think that it got people excited and that they know that we are headed in the right direction."

Havre took on Lethbridge Thursday and, following a 16-0 defeat, faced elimination with a loss against Tri-County. Yet the offense, which couldn't muster anything Thursday, got jumpstarted by Brenden Danielson, who doubled in two runs and later stole home, all in the first inning to give Havre a 3-0 lead.

"He left a little early," Fuzesy said. "But it put enough pressure on the pitcher that he threw it a little high. And that's the point, trying to force the other team into making some mistakes."

In the second inning, Brendan Garden brought home another run with a triple, and the North Stars led 4-1 before the Cardinals tied the game with three runs of their own in the top of the third.

Cue Danielson again, who doubled in another run, which sparked a three-run inning that included an RBI double by Kennedy McKay. After three innings, the North Stars led 7-4, but in the fourth inning, Tri-County ramped up its offense and chased Havre starter Ethan Roberts. In all, Tri-County played five runs in the fourth, taking a 9-7 lead.

The score was 10-7 when the North Stars came to bat in the fifth and in need of a spark, Tony Antley gave them one with a leadoff triple. Antley eventually scored on an error and after a base knock by Gavin Mosbrucker scored a run, the Cardinals lead was 10-9.

McKay, who came on to pitch in the fourth for Roberts, held Tri-County scoreless in the top of the sixth, before crushing a two-run triple in the bottom half of the inning that put Havre in front 11-10. Then, after the North Stars added another run to make it 12-10, McKay retired the Cardinals in order in the seventh to seal the win.

"We never put our heads down and I think that was big," Fuzesy said. "We made some mistakes, but we never gave in and we found a way to get some hits there at the end."

McKay got the win after allowing just two hits and one run in more than three innings of work. He also struck out four. Danielson led the way at the plate for the North Stars with three hits and three RBI. Antley matched him with three hits and three RBI and both players scored three runs each. Trey Murphy also contributed with two hits and two RBI, while Jake Sedahl and Mosbrucker both added two as well.

The win over Tri-County got the North Stars to Saturday and earned them a matchup with Medicine Hat. Antley got the start and spotted the Knights two runs in the first, before Gavin Mosbrucker tied the game with a two-run double in the second inning.

Yet in the third, the North Stars got themselves in trouble with errors and walks. And the Knights, who were technically the home team, took advantage with five runs to go up 7-2.

"Walks and errors," Fuzesy said. "They always seem to lead to runs. Those are just some of the growing pains we are still having as a pretty young team."

Medicine Hat added to its lead with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth, giving the Knights a 10-2 advantage headed to the seventh inning. However, the North Stars rallied and strung together five hits to score five runs in their final at bat. At one point, Havre was one hit from bringing the tying run to the plate, but the Knights were able to secure the third out and end the game.

"If we would have come back to win, that would have been a microcosm of our season," Fuzesy said. "It was anyways. Those kids just never stop playing. It's too bad we didn't get it going a little earlier, because we did get some hits off that kid earlier, we just couldn't string anything together."

Antley was given the loss after allowing seven runs in three innings of work. Mosbrucker was 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI, while Sedahl and McKay each added two hits.

The North Stars finished the season 22-25. Medicine Hat went on to make the Northern A championship game, before losing to Lewistown. Both Medicine Hat and Lewistown will advance to the State A Legion Tournament.

"I think this year was a positive step for us," Fuzesy said. "It's going to take us a little longer than I thought, but now that we have won at districts, maybe next year will be the year when we will make a run at state. It's just tough because I know that these guys are good enough to do it right now."

Havre 12, Tri-County 10 , lo

Tri-County 013 510 0 - 10 8 2

Havre 313 023 x - 12 16 7

WP: Kennedy McKay

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

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