Big road trip awaits North Stars

The Havre North Stars earned a short break from baseball action over the Independence Day holiday, but will greeted with a tough Canadian road trip come Monday.

Starting Monday, the American Legion North Stars will be in Canada for two days and four district games. Monday, the North Stars will face the Lethbridge Spitz Miners for two games, and Tuesday the North Stars will face the Fort MacLeod Royals for two more games.

Both teams north of the border are going to greet the North Stars with tough outings.

Havre has yet to face the Miners, but have recorded a 1-1 split with the Royals this season, winning 12-1, and losing 12-6. But looking at common opponents of Havre and Lethbridge, the Miners are beatable, but it will take all-around good play by the North Stars.

The Miners are 0-2 against Fort MacLeod this season, while Havre earned a split. But the Miners are also 3-1 against Medicine Hat. While the North Stars showed they can compete, they are 0-2 against Medicine Hat. Havre also swept Tri-County in two games, but got swept by the Great Falls Electrics and Vauxhall Spurs. Lethbridge, on the other hand, split with Tri-County and the Electrics, but got swept by the Spurs in two games. And when the North Stars and Miners meet Monday, it should be a tight matchup that could go either way in both games of the doubleheader.

It is the same story when the North Stars face the Royals Tuesday.

Going 1-1 the first time around, the North Stars really showed off their potential for the first time this season. In the 12-1 win, Havre had 12 hits, but also earned four walks and got hit twice. They also struck out just four times, as the offense helped produce a solid win for ace Tyrell Pierce.

And for the North Stars to earn a couple of wins moving forward, they have to play to that blueprint in both series.

Havre has to play well all-around, including offense, defense and pitching. Pierce has grown into the North Stars’ ace, while Gavin Gunderson, Chris Vukasin, Ryne Antley and Spencer Ross have to pitch well, too, especially in relief out of the bullpen. But the North Star bats have also been hot, especially with leadoff hitter Travis Roth catching fire as of late. If Roth, Thurman Holdsclaw, Gavin Gunderson, Pierce and the rest of the lineup can continue to get on base, and hit with runners in scoring position, they have shown they can compete with almost anybody in the division.

It will be a long and grueling road trip, but the North Stars do have an opportunity to return to Havre with at least a couple of wins. Head coach Danny Wirtzberger is adamant about any win from here on out taking the North Stars’ best performance, and that will especially true against the Miners and Royals. Both teams are solid teams all-around, anchored by great pitching and long lineups littered with great hitters.

But, if the North Stars play consistently, continue to hit the ball and get great pitching by the bullpen when they need it, the North Stars should be in good position to earn some very important wins over the next four games.

Monday the North Stars will face the Lethbrige Spitz Miners in Lethbridge, and on Tuesday, the North Stars will face the Fort MacLeod Royals in Fort MacLeod. Havre also visits Tri-County July 15 for a pair of makeup games.