Northstars hit the road again

At times, the schedule has been unpredictable for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team during the 2019 season and the weather has played a big role in that uncertainty.

Of course, in Montana, that is to be expected, especially during the spring months of the season, simply because of the unpredictable weather during that time of year. However, the Northstars ran into more weather-related issues Tuesday as the team's scheduled doubleheader against Northern A District rival Lewistown was postponed due to poor field conditions. The game will be played tonight instead, with the first pitch going out at 5 p.m.

"The game got moved due to wet field conditions," Wirtzberger said.

Havre and the Lewistown Redbirds currently sit in a tie for third place with identical 11-9 records in district play. The two teams met back in Havre in June, with each team taking one game. The Northstars pulled out an 8-7 win in extra innings, while the Redbirds earned a 7-0 shutout thanks to a brilliant performance from Ben Kolar.

Wirtzberger said that he would be trotting out veteran starting pitchers Tony Antley and Kennedy McKay to face the Redbirds tonight in a two-game set that will have a big impact on seeding for the district tournament. Following the delay, Kolar will now be eligible to pitch against Havre, although it is unclear if he will start or not.

Going into the week, Vauxhall nearly has the top spot clinched with Lethbridge sitting in second place at 14-10 after completing its schedule. That means if the Northstars win their last four games, they would be in second place alone, while a 3-1 record would tie them with the Miners. Tri-County is also in the mix at 11-11 but has a road doubleheader against Vauxhall, which has just two losses. The Cardinals could have an outside shot at third since Havre and Lewistown both have home doubleheaders against Vauxhall looming this weekend. Yet the winner of tonight's doubleheader in Lewistown should have the upper hand in the race for third.

If Lewistown and Havre split tonight, the third seed could wind up going to whichever team can perform better at home against the first-place Spurs. Havre will host Vauxhall to close out the regular season Saturday at Legion Field and the Redbirds will turn around and do the same thing Sunday, as the Spurs will play eight games this week to close out their schedule.

Regardless of what happens this week, the Northstars can't finish lower than fifth in the Northern A standings. Havre would only be guaranteed to finish second if it ran the table, winning its four remaining games, so a third-place finish, which would likely mean a date with Medicine Hat in the opening round of the district tournament, could be the best outcome. If the Havre winds up fourth or fifth, it will likely face Tri-County, a team it has a 5-0 record against during the regular season, with one non-conference victory to go along with a pair of two-game sweeps in district competition.

Outside of first place, which Vauxhall needs only two wins to clinch, there is a lot that can happen during this final week, with most teams playing between two and four games over the next five days.

Following their home doubleheader Saturday at Legion Field, which starts at 3 p.m., the Northstars will head to the Northern A District Tournament the next week in Medicine Hat. That will begin July 18 and run through July 21. The top two teams in the district will advance to the State A Legion tournament, which is July 26-31.