North Stars earn a big district sweep at Vauxhall

The Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team has been on the road for nearly a month now, but ended the long road trip with two big time wins for the ball club.

Monday the North Stars spent the day playing the Vauxhall Spurs in Vauxhall, in a league doubleheader. The Spurs spend year in and year out amongst the top teams in the league, making the two game sweep that much more impressive for the North Stars. In game one, the North Stars earned a 7-3 win, and in the nightcap, the North Stars earned a 5-3 win.

Brandon Smith earned the game one win, and was supported by some timely hitting.

Justin Jensen was able to score two runs, while Thurman Holdsclaw was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Smith also helped his own cause, going 2-for-3 at the plate, also with two RBIs in the game.

In game two, Jensen was the winning pitcher, as the North Stars continue to utilize the one-two pitching punch of Smith and Jensen.

The score was slightly closer in the second game, but the North Stars still relied on some timely hitting and runs. Havre was trailing 3-2 in the seventh, came from behind to score three runs. Spencer Ross was 1-for-1, but drove in the scoring the run, while Garreth Bernard and Tyrell Pierce also scored in the seventh.

"Vauxhall is always a fundamentally sound team," North Star's head coach Danny Wirtzberger said. "And to come away with the sweep speaks volumes about this team. They came out very energized and ready to play after having a week long break from games, and really, we couldn't be playing any better baseball right now."

Havre is back in action on Thursday when the North Stars face the Great Falls Stallions and Electrics in Great Falls, but will return to Legion field in Havre to face Tri-County in a doubleheader on Friday. The games between the North Stars and Cardinals will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.