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Northstar season ends at state tournament

As the host of the State A tournament this past weekend at Legion Field, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club looked to use their homefield advantage to make a deep run in the tournament. Unfortunately, they started the weekend with a loss to the Glacier Twins Thursday night. They were sent to the loser's bracket where they played the Belgrade Bandits in an elimination game Friday afternoon at Legion Field.

Just like their first game of the tournament, the Northstars fell behind early. Yet, they battled throughout the game as they even took the lead at one point. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Havre scored a pair of runs to tie the game 6-6. But a Havre error allowed Belgrade to score a couple of runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead. Over the last two innings, the Northstars failed to score again and their season ended with an 8-6 loss.

While their season has come to an end, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger could not be prouder for how his team played with their season on the line.

"We played with heart, a lot of heart. Very difficult team to beat and we gave them everything they could handle," Wirtzberger said. "I just think we came up maybe one hit or one play short."

The loss ended what had been a great season for the Northstars. They finished the year with a record of 35-16 and they took second in the North District tournament the previous weekend. The Northstars had their best stretch of the season from the middle of June to the middle of July where they won 15 games in a row.

"Took a lot of steps forward this year. A lot of firsts for this program in a really long time and it's only going to get better," Wirtzberger said. "This team, it's very young, very experienced and they're going to come back next year even better."

Havre demonstrated their resiliency after they fell behind early to the Bandits Friday afternoon. Belgrade took the lead in the top of the first inning when Lance Neil scored on a sacrifice bunt from his teammate Colin Delph. They extended their lead to 2-0 in the top of the second when Brody Jacksha scored on a Havre error.

After a few more scoreless innings, the Northstars finally got their offense going in the bottom of the third. After Havre got the bases loaded with no outs, senior Eli Cloninger hit a double to right field to tie the game. A Belgrade error then allowed both Cloninger and Caden Jenkins to score and give Havre a 4-2 lead.

However, the Northstars could not keep their momentum as Belgrade came back to take the lead. It started with an RBI single from Payton Burman in the top of the fourth to make the score 4-3. In the top of the fifth, Neil scored on a Havre error to tie the game. Jacksha followed up that score with a single that got two runners home for the 6-4 lead.

Again, Havre kept battling as they tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. With a runner on base, Trenton Maloughney hit a double to right field to cut their deficit to one run. On the same play, Maloughney tied the game on a Belgrade error.

"Just tough approaches at the plate. Not swinging at bad pitches and getting after good ones. Stuff that we've seen from these guys time and time again all year long," said Wirtzberger on how the Northstars kept coming back in the game.

Belgrade again retook momentum in the top of the sixth to take the lead. They took the lead when Burman scored on a Havre error and then an RBI single from Coby Richards made their lead 8-6.

"That's a really experienced team and they've seen a lot of different situations against a lot of good teams so we knew it wasn't going to be easy," Wirtzberger said. "We knew that every punch that we threw, they were going to come back with one of their own and we just came up one short."

The Northstars attempted a rally in the bottom of the seventh but could not get the bats going. While their season came to an unsatisfying end, Wirtzberger made sure to remind his team in the postgame huddle what they had accomplished this year.

"I'm so proud of them. They just gave everything they had all season long from start to finish and that's all I could ask for," Wirtzberger said.

As the season comes to an end, so do the senior seasons for Cloninger, Ethan Carlson and Carson Lunak. While this was Carlson's last game as a Northstar, Cloninger and Lunak are eligible to return for next season if they choose to.

With only three seniors, the Northstars will see many important players return next year. Brody Nanini, who led the team with 70 innings pitched this season, will return for the Northstars. Other players returning include Maloughney, Jenkins and Kale Reno who will help on both sides of the plate next season. With the success the Northstars had this year and the return of so many players, Wirtzberger is confident in his team's future.

"We beat a lot of good teams this year. We know we can play with the best in the state," Wirtzberger said. "Hopefully, we can take that forward into the coming seasons and win some championships."

Belgrade 8, Havre 6

BLG 1 1 0 1 3 2 0 - 8 9 5

HAV 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 - 6 4 3

WP - Brody Nanini

LP - Colin Delph

Havre batting - Caden Jenkins 0-3, Eli Cloninger 1-3, Trenton Maloughney 1-4, Ethan Carlson 1-4, Carson Lunak 0-3, Theron Peterson 0-3, Tavish McLean 0-2, Brody Nanini 0-2, Drake Berreth 1-3, Kale VanCampen 0-2.

 

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