Rolling: Havre sweeps Vauxhall

Pitching has been a trademark of the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team all season long. But now that Havre's bats have become more than consistent, the North Stars are becoming awfully dangerous.

And on Wednesday afternoon at Legion Field, the North Stars showed yet again just how dangerous a team they've become by sweeping the Vauxhall Spurs with great pitching and bigtime hitting in a Northern District doubleheader.

The North Stars beat Vauxhall by scores of 7-2 and 11-7 to run their current winning streak to seven games, equaling their longest unbeaten streak of the season.

And Havre swept their second league opponent in as many days with some dramatics too.

After a dominant win in game one, the North Stars were on the ropes in Wednesday's nightcap. The Spurs, who were shut down in the first game, came alive to harass Havre starter Kyle Miller for six runs in the first four innings of the second game. But Miller stayed the course on the mound, and would eventually help himself out at the plate in a big way.

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the North Stars would pull even. With two outs, Shane Kemmer doubled and Justin Jensen singled to drive both Kolby Sukut and Kemmer in. Then, Miller delivered a game-tying single up the middle.

But Miller and the North Stars were just getting started. With the game tied at 6-6 in the sixth inning, Kemmer and Jensen led off with backto- back singles. Miller then dug in and crushed a triple off the dead center field wall, driving in the game-winning runs. Havre would tack on three more runs in the inning and Miller quietly sat the Spurs down in the seventh to preserve the North Star sweep.

Miller went the distance on the hill for the North Stars, picking up his sixth win of the season. At the plate, he was 3-for-4 with the game-winning RBIs. Kemmer, who has been scorching hot at the dish, also went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple. Kemmer was a homerun away from hitting for the coveted cycle. The North Stars, who pounded out 15 hits in the second game, also got a perfect 4-for-4 game from Jensen, while Mark Vukasin went 3-for-4 with an RBI-double.

While the second game of Wednesday's double dip was a slug fest, hits were harder to come by in the first game, especially for the Spurs. Jensen got the start for the North Stars and threw a four-hit, complete-game gem, leading the North Stars to a 7-2 win.

Vauxhall pitcher Ty Odland also pitched well, allowing just seven Havre hits. But the North Stars' hits were timely and they manufactured seven runs, more than enough of a cushion for Jensen.

On just one hit, a single by Jensen, the North Stars pushed four runs across in the bottom of the first inning.

Leading 4-0, Havre never looked back.

In the fourth inning, leading 5-0, Havre struck again, scoring twice after consecutive singles by Adam Briese, Roman Surber and Kemmer. Kemmer's hit drove in two runs to give the North Stars a commanding 7-0 lead. Vauxhall would put together a run in the fifth and one in the seventh, but Jensen was in full control and the Spurs couldn't get any closer.

Kemmer and Jensen led the way at the plate for the North Stars. Kemmer was 2-for-3 while Jensen went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. Sukut, Briese and Surber also had important base hits.

The two wins on Wednesday allowed the North Stars to keep pace in their pursuit of a top two seed at next week's Northern District Tournament in Fort MacLeod, Alberta. The North Stars improved to 13-7 in district play and 27-18 overall.

Havre has four more district games left in the regular season, and the North Stars finish their final home stand of the year on Friday when they host Fort MacLeod. Friday's doubleheader against the Royals starts at 5

p. m. at Legion Field.