Havre Northstars rose up this summer

The 2019 Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team didn't necessarily achieve everything it set out to do this past season.

But even so, there is no doubt that the Northstars took a big step in the right direction following a 24-20 campaign that saw them finish fourth in the Northern A District regular-season standings. More importantly, Havre also notched just its second win at the district tournament in the last six seasons, which was another sign of progress.

"We did a lot of really good things this season," Nortstars head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "Having a record over .500 overall and in conference play is a good step in the right direction. For the second year in a row, we had a player get selected for the All-State team. Our young kids really stepped up in big spots when they needed to. So that's really encouraging."

As Wirtzberger alluded to, the Northstars had a player selected for the All-State team in Class A for the second straight year. This season, that honor went to Ethan Roberts, who was outstanding defensively in center field as well as a nightmare at the plate and on the basepaths. But Roberts wasn't the only Northstar player to receive postseason honors, as Kennedy McKay was also selected to the All-District team in the Northern A as a starting pitcher after posting a 4-2 record and leading the team in ERA and strikeouts.

While both Roberts and McKay are seniors and won't return to the club next season, along with others such as Tony Antley, Austin Delarosa, Kelden Sullivan and Hunter Lovenguth. Despite their departures, Wirtzberger said he feels good about the direction of the program.

"We have to understand that it's the little things that will add up," Wirtzberger said. "We have to develop better practice and preparation habits in order to be successful and accomplish the goals that we set for ourselves. We have big expectations every year, and it can all get pretty daunting when you try to do it all at once, but if you do it one thing at a time during practice and one pitch at a time during the game we will accomplish everything we want to."

One of the biggest voids left by this senior class will be on the mound as Delarosa, McKay and Antley combined to start 28 games and recorded 13 victories between them in addition to pitching a total of 144 innings. Yet, Tyrel Kjersem will bring a reliable, experienced arm to the pitching staff after he posted a record of 5-1 this past season as a starter. Eli Cloninger, Trenton Maloughney, Carson Lunk and Ethan Carlson are others who could factor in the rotation next season. Those guys have each shown an ability to be everyday contributors as well, along with Caden Jenkins.

"Tyrel Kjersem is a gamer," Wirtzberger said. "I love the way he competes when the lights shine the brightest and the pressure is on. If he can learn how to prepare and practice the correct way the sky is the limit for him. I'm also excited to see Trenton Maloughney, Carson Lunak, Ethan Carlson and Caden Jenkins step into larger roles and see what they can do with that next year."

When it comes to the offense, the Northstars will return one of their most productive hitters in the district last season and that's Quinn Reno, who was spectacular in 2019. Reno led Havre in batting average this past season, hitting .438 to go along with an on-base percentage of .520, which was second. Reno also led the team in extra-base hits with 13, RBIs with 44 and was second in total runs with 45. Reno along with Cloninger, among others, will be counted on to play big roles both at the plate and contribute in a variety of ways.

"I'm really excited to see what Quinn can do with his last year as a Northstar," Wirtzberger said. "We are extremely fortunate to have a guy like him to lead our program next year. He is a guy that does things the right way and brings it every single day. I'm hoping the rest of the guys will feed off of that. Eli Cloninger is another guy we are confident will produce in big ways next year. He got a lot of playing time this year just because of his versatility in the field, and we could just see his confidence grow as the year went on."

Regardless, if you are a baseball fan in Havre, you should be excited about what's ahead with the legion program in 2020.