News you can use
News you can use
Havre's Ethan Roberts makes a sliding catch during an American Legion baseball game earlier this month at Legion Field in Havre. Roberts, a four-year standout for the Northstars, was named Class A American Legion All-State as a center fielder for this season, as well as being tabbed Northern A All-District.
Havre's Kennedy McKay fires a pitch during an American Legion baseball game earlier this summer in Havre. McKay was named Northern A All-District as a pitcher in what was his final season playing for the Northstars.
The Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team saw its season come to close last weekend, as they were knocked out of the Northern A District tournament.
And while the Northstars were hoping to advance to state, the club did leave Medicine Hat with two players receiving All-District honors. Senior Ethan Roberts, who was also named All-State for Legion A, earned Northern A All-District honors in center field. McKay, another senior, was also named All-District in the Northern A for his performance as a pitcher in the 2019 season.
Roberts was named as one of the top players in the state thanks to his ability to contribute in so many ways. Offensively, he was highly productive batting .437, which was second on the team to go along with a team-leading on-base percentage of .561. He also led the Northstars in runs (65) and stolen bases (42). Incredibly, he was only caught stealing once. Yet, Roberts did more than just create offense. He was also tremendous in the outfield and didn't make an error all season. He also pitched in three games this past season.
"Ethan was the kick starter for the offense," Northstars head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "It starts with his discipline at the plate. He really went up there with a plan every single time, and it sounds simple but that's what it takes to remain consistent. He didn't swing at bad pitches and made the pitchers really work to get him out. He also put a lot of pressure on the defense with his speed once he got on base which changes the game. The last thing about him is his consistency on defense. Zero errors all season. That says it all. He only had five assists from the outfield, but that's only because nobody would run on him. Also, a great kid off the field who works hard to be the best athlete he can be."
On the mound, McKay was a solid presence throughout the season for the Northstars and ultimately, he proved to be one of the most effective starting pitchers in the Northern A district.
In nine starts, McKay put together a 4-2 record. He also was the starter in the win at districts last Thursday against Tri-County. In another win this season vs the Cardinals, he notched a complete-game victory after allowing just two runs and one hit over seven innings. It was the first of two complete-game wins for McKay this season. On top of that, he also led the Northstars in strikeouts with 38 and had a team-best earned-run average of 3.75 in 48 innings of work. His final WHIP was a respectable 1.68.
"Kennedy is a guy who really started to understand what it takes to be efficient on the mound towards the end of the season," Wirtzberger said. "Once he started to realize that throwing strikes and hitting spots and mixing up your pitch calls was more important than just throwing it by everyone, he started to shut teams down. He was unsure whether he was going to come back for his last year, and I am glad he did. He bought into what we, as coaches, were trying to teach him and really improved as the season went on."
The Northstars finished the season with a 24-20 record overall as well as a 13-11 mark in the conference during the regular season. Yet, Havre was unable to advance to the state tournament, which takes just the two top teams. Lewistown and Vauxhall will represent the Northern District. Vauxhall swept the regular-season and tournament titles.
Reader Comments(0)