Key games on tap for North Stars

The Havre North Stars American Legion Baseball team is coming off possibly its busiest week of the season. Yet, there is no rest for the weary as the North Stars will be back on the diamond for six more games in the next five days.

The North Stars, who played six of eight games last week at home, will spend more time on the road this week, first for two games in Fort Macleod today, then two games in Lethbridge Wednesday before returning home to take on the Great Falls Chargers Saturday. Each matchup is a Northern A district doubleheader and the games Tuesday and Wednesday in Fort Macleod and Lethbridge each begin at 1 p.m. Saturday's games against Great Falls will be at Legion Field with the first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.

"I told the guys that these past two weeks have been like playing a big league schedule," North Stars head coach Dick Fuzesy said. "We are really looking at going on the road and taking care of business. We were hoping to get another win or two last week, so now we need to get on the road and make up for that."

Havre, which is currently 15-17-1 overall and 9-7 in district play, has just eight conference games remaining and six of them are this week. That means that these six games will go a long way toward determining where the North Stars will finish in the final standings and where they will be seeded for the district tournament.

"We are really looking to make a push right here," Fuzesy said. "Like I keep telling the guys, baseball is a long season. We just need to put everything together and focus on playing well from start to finish."

Of course, the North Stars often go as their offense goes, which has turned into a strong suit of the team in recent weeks. And while the team is collectively batting .325 on the season, the most integral part of the offense comes at the top of order with Gavin Gunderson, Travis Roth, Jake Sedahl and Ryne Antley.

Gunderson is the leadoff hitter for the North Stars and while he is batting .313, his on-base percentage of .500 is tops on the team. The speedster from Chinook has also scored a team-high 34 runs. After Gunderson, Roth hits in the No. 2 spot and has been consistently good all season long with an average of .360 and an OBP of .475. Roth is also third on the team in runs batted in at 22 and third in runs scored with 27.

Then after Gunderson and Roth take their turns at the dish, the stage is set for Sedahl and Antley, Havre's best hitters. Sedahl, who has been hot seemingly since the opening game of the season, is batting .456 to go along 28 RBI's, good enough for second on the team and 11 extra base hits, which is a team high. And as good as Sedahl has been, Antley has been just as impressive, batting .417 and leading the team 30 RBI's. He is also third on the team in runs scored with 23.

"Those first four guys in our lineup are deadly," Fuzesy said. "And then we have others like Tyrell Pierce and Jeff Miller, who are starting to hit the ball well. And even guys like Jerod Boles are finding ways to get on base and make something happen."

But, regardless of how well the offense plays, Havre is only going to make significant damage in the standings if it gets some outstanding efforts from its pitching staff. Dylan Carpenter has been the horse this season for the North Stars, pitching a total of 68 innings and leading the team with five wins. Overall, Carpenter is 5-2 with three saves to his credit as well as an earned run average that is just over 3.9.

Pierce has also proven to be an effective arm for the North Stars, despite his 1-5 record. He has pitched over 51 innings in eight starts for Havre and has a very respectable 4.55 ERA. Miller has also put together some quality stars for the North Stars and boasts a 5-1 record with an ERA of 6.9. Boles is also 3-0 as a starter and currently has a team-best 2.38 ERA in more than 22 innings on the bump. Gunderson, Antley and Branden Danielson could also see time on the hill this week if needed.

"It's just about putting it all together for us," Fuzesy said. "Baseball is a long season and we just have to keep trusting the process. Eventually, I think everything is going to come together for us and we are going to start winning some of these games that we have let get away from us."

The North Stars will kick off their busy week today against Fort Macleod. Then, they will go head-to-head with Lethbridge Wednesday at 1 p.m., before hosting Great Falls Saturday at 5 p.m. at Legion Field. The games against the Chargers will be Havre's final home games of 2015.