Great Falls Chargers come back to defeat Havre Northstars

Early on in Wednesday night’s game in Great Falls, it looked like the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club would run away with the contest as they took a 10-3 lead halfway through their game against the Great Falls Chargers AA team. However, the Chargers worked their way back into the contest to cut the lead to 13-10 heading to the bottom of the ninth.

In the final frame, the Chargers used walks and singles to get on base and bring home runs to tie the game. With two outs and the bases loaded, Kellan Lawhon was walked on a 3-1 count to bring in the game-winning run for the Chargers. While they were unable to hold on for the win, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger was proud of their performance.

“We battled really hard,” Wirtzberger said. “The boys were playing aggressively and I just thought that they stayed together as a team. They played a really good ball game and just came out on the wrong end of it.”

While the Northstars gave up several runs late in the game, their offense had a stellar night in Great Falls. As a team, the Northstars recorded 14 hits. Brody Nanini led Havre with four RBIs as he went 2-for-5 at the plate. Eli Cloninger also had a great game as he scored three runs, drove in two RBIs and went 4-for-5 from the plate.

“They were laying off pitches outside the zone and they got balls over the plate, we didn’t miss very often,” Wirtzberger said about the Northstars’ offense. “That just speaks to how aggressive they were at the plate. Just really good approaches and taking advantage of a team’s mistakes.”

Just like many games this season, the Northstars got their bats going early. Cloninger opened the game with a single and Drake Berreth was walked right after. Nanini then singled on a hard ground ball to bring in Cloninger for the 1-0 lead. Jevin Jenkins followed that up with an RBI single of his own to center field. Later in the inning, Nanini scored on a fielder’s choice to give Havre a 3-0 lead.

Looking to keep pace, the Chargers got some offense going in the bottom of the first. After a single and a walk to get a pair of runners on, Lane Seim singled on a hard ground ball to left field to drive in the run to get Great Falls on the scoreboard.

But the Northstars responded with another strong inning in the top of the second. Colter Solomon got walked to start the inning and Cloninger got on base with a single. Berreth capitalized with a single to center field to bring a runner home for a 4-1 lead. A Great Falls error then allowed Cloninger to score a run.

The Northstars continued to take advantage of Charger mistakes in the second. With one runner on, three straight Northstars were walked to bring in another run. Chason Mader got another runner home with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 7-1.

The Northstars continued to keep things rolling in the top of the third. After Cloninger opened the inning with a double to center field, Nanini hit a single to center field to bring him home for an 8-1 lead. Seim tried to keep Great Falls in the game as he hit a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the third.

Early in the top of the fourth, the Northstars got two men on with a hit batter and a single from Solomon. In his fourth hit of the game, Cloninger hit a single to center field to drive in a run for a 9-2 lead.

“He did a really nice job but that’s just Eli,” Wirtzberger said about Cloninger’s performance. “That’s what he’s been doing pretty much the last couple years. He’s just super talented and he’s starting to get it mentally and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

The Chargers continued to try to keep themselves in the game. After a walk to open the bottom of the fourth, Nate Fowler hit a triple to right field to drive in the run.

Yet, the Northstars continued to add onto the scoreboard. After he got on base with a single, Solomon worked his way to second. On a dropped third strike, Solomon was able to make it home for the score as the ball was thrown to first for the out.

The Chargers responded with an RBI triple from Fowler in the bottom of the sixth. Landon Lockwood then got him home with an RBI single to cut the lead to 10-5. But in the top of the seventh, Kale Reno and Ezra Pyle both scored on the same passed ball to add to Havre’s lead.

But the Chargers just kept coming. After loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh, Fox Weymouth hit an RBI single to drive in a pair of runs. Later in the inning, Lockwood hit a single to center field to drive in another pair of runs to cut Havre’s lead to 12-9.

“They’re just good hitters,” Wirtzberger said about the Chargers’ offense late in the game. “They had luck on their side in those last three innings. Even balls that weren’t hit hard were falling, so credit to them for staying in the game.”

In the top of the eighth, Lane Kinsella scored on a sacrifice fly from Nanini to increase Havre’s lead to 13-9. Again, the Chargers scored in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 13-10. In the bottom of the ninth with one last chance, they continued to threaten as they loaded the bases with no outs.

Fowler was able to score on a line out to cut into the lead. Mason Davis then hit an RBI single to center field to cut Havre’s lead to one run. Logan Sloan followed that up with an RBI single of his own to tie the game, 13-13, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. After a walk to load the bases, Lawhon was walked to drive in the run to give Great Falls the 14-13 walkoff win.

The loss dropped the Northstars to 6-7 on the season. While it was a tough loss, Wirtzberger hopes that his team can learn from their first nine-inning game of the summer as they move forward with the season.

“Just staying focused throughout the game. Nine-inning games are long and we don’t play very many of them,” Wirtzberger said. “Staying focused throughout the game is going to be the biggest thing.”

The Havre Northstars will next play in a scrimmage against the Great Falls Voyagers at Legion Field on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Great Falls 14, Havre 13

HAV 3 4 1 1 0 1 2 1 0 - 13 14 2

GF 1 0 1 1 0 2 4 1 4 - 14 16 2

WP - Trigg Mapes

LP - Jevin Jenkins

Havre Batting - Eli Coninger 4-5, Drake Berreth 1-4, Brody Nanini 2-5, Jevin Jenkins 2-5, Kale Reno 1-4, Lane Kinsella 0-1, Ezra Pyle 1-4, Chason Mader 1-4, Tanner Delarosa 0-2, Colter Solomon 2-3.