District play heats up at Legion Field

It’s still early in the season for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team, but with four critical games on tap for this weekend at Legion Field, it’s not too early to send a statement to the rest of the Northern A District.

Havre (4-2) will enter the weekend with a 2-0 district mark following a home sweep over Tri-County earlier in the season. Yet, with Fort Macleod and Medicine Hat in town for doubleheaders Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) respectively, the Northstars are hoping to continue their fast start.

“It would be very important,” Northstars head coach Patch Wirtzberger said of getting wins this weekend. “We can't get too far ahead of ourselves at this point, but if we can get a few wins this weekend it would send a message to the rest of the district that when they come to Havre they are going to have their hands full.”

Much like Havre, both Fort Macleod and Medicine Hat will be looking to improve on their records from a season ago. All three teams finished below .500 in 2018 and Fort Macleod was the only one of three to finish with a winning record in the Northern A last season. The Royals were the fourth seed in the district tournament, which eventually sent Lewistown and Tri-County to state.

Unfortunately, for the Royals, the season hasn’t gotten off to a great start. They are 3-4 overall but just 1-4 in the Northern A. Fort Macleod split with Medicine Hat, winning its only district game 22-21, however, it was also swept by Lethbridge and beaten once by Vauxhall. Medicine Hat will come into the weekend 1-1 in the district but with a doubleheader looming Saturday at Lewistown before taking on the Northstars twice at Legion Field Sunday.

“I know they played each other last week and it was a high scoring game,” Wirtzberger said of Fort Macleod and Medicine Hat. “The Canadian teams can always hit the ball. They are going to put it in play, so we need to limit the mistakes on defense to give ourselves a chance to win.”

As Wirtzberger indicated, defense will be a key for the Northstars this weekend. Yet, quality pitching will be too and on Saturday, the Northstars head coach said he would be turning to a pair of veterans to start the double dip as Tony Antley and Kennedy McKay are both slated to take the mound. In three starts, Antley has pitched 12 innings and has an ERA of 3.57. McKay, on the other hand, has started just one game but comes in with an ERA of 1.28.

Sunday, Wirtzberger said that Tyrel Kjersem, who leads the Norhtstars in strikeouts, will likely be one of the starter pitchers alongside Trenton Maloughney. However, with all the pitch-count rules and with four games in two days, expect plenty of maneuvering.

“I know that Tony and Kennedy will start the games on Saturday and Tyrel and Trenton will go on Sunday,” Wirtzberger said. “At least that's the plan. But it's all hands on deck for our pitchers this weekend. Four games in two days mean we will need everyone to contribute. I'm looking for Hunter (Lovenguth), Carson (Lunak) and Eli (Cloninger) to help us out in relief.”

Wirtzberger also talked about how pitch counts, such as a rule that won’t allow a pitcher to throw the next day if he exceeds 30 pitches, can impact management of the pitching staff.

“It's definitely a factor,” Wirtzberger said. “If they pitch over 30 pitches in a game then they can't pitch the next day, so they need to work effectively and efficiently if we are going to be successful this weekend. The good thing is I know all of them are capable of going out there and finishing a game on their own. They just need to execute.”

As important as it will be to prevent Fort Macleod and Medicine Hat from scoring runs, the Northstars will look to continue an impressive start to the season offensively. In six games, Havre has plated 56 runs, an average of just under 10 a game. The Northstars are also batting .273 as a team with an on-base percentage of .391.

Leading the way in the batter’s box for Havre has been Antley, who currently leads the Northstars in batting average (.476), hits (10), RBIs (10) and runs scored (9). He also leads the team in doubles and is tied for the team lead in stolen bases with six, along with Ethan Roberts and Quinn Reno, who, along with Austin Delarosa, are the only Northstars hitting above .300.

Havre will open the four-game homestand Saturday with two games against Fort Macleod, followed by two against Medicine Hat Sunday. Both doubleheaders will be played at Legion Field. Havre hosts its annual Havre Jamboree next weekend.