Miners sweep Northstars north of the border

The Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club was hoping to build some good momentum heading into the postseason. The Lethbridge Miners had other ideas.

Havre was in Lethbridge Thursday afternoon for the final Northern A District doubleheader of the regular season, and the Northstars dropped both games, leaving them with a 12-14 record in district play.

In game one of the double dip, The Northstars lost a back-and-forth heartbreaker, coming up shirt 10-9. Gavin Mosbrucker got the loss on the mound for the Northstars, in what was an offensive slugfest by both teams.

Havre took the field for the second game, hoping to salvage a split and a chance at a .500 record in conference play. However, the Miners were too tough at home, and they took down the Northstars 10-6. Kennedy McKay got the loss for the Northstars, while the Havre offensive punted out 22 hits in the two games Thursday.

The two losses in Lethbridge dropped the Northstars into a tie for fifth place in the Northern A District standings. Lewistown had already claimed the top spot in the conference.

Now, Havre and head coach Mickey Williams will be home for a few days before heading off to Conrad for the 2018 Northern A District Tournament. In Conrad, Havre will battle Lewistown, Vauxhall, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Fort MacLeod, the Great Falls Chargers A and the host Tri-County Cardinals for two coveted spots in the Montana/Alberta Class A State Tournament, which takes place Aug. 2-5 in Miles City.

Havre (20-22-1) will begin play at the district tournament next Thursday. The tourney runs through July 31, with all games being played in Conrad.