Coronavirus forces Northstars to adjust schedule on the fly

If there is anything the COVID-19 pandemic has taught people, it is that it slows down for nobody and nothing. COVID-19 killed off the 2020 spring sports season, has been a persistent pest for the summer season and even threatens the future of upcoming sports seasons, and the virus hit close to home for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club recently.

Back in May, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger mentioned that due to COVID-19, their season could change at any moment, something that reflects what happened recently.

"It's a step in the right direction," Wirtzberger said back then. "But we know it could change at any moment. We're just going to take advantage of the time that we're given here to try and get some development done with the kids and see where it goes from there."

And something did happen to change a part of the Northstars' season, as a player from the Tri-County Cardinals, a team that played at Legion Field against Havre over two weeks ago, tested positive for COVID-19, leading the Cardinals to quarantine for the two-week incubation period, and they temporarily suspended their season as of now - a move that was likely highly recommended by their local health department.

At first, a rumor went around that it was a Northstar player that tested positive, but that was not the case. For now, it is just the case that Havre will not be playing Tri-County for a good while after the positive test was confirmed. At the end of the day, the schedule will look just a little more different for the Northstars from now on.

As for what Wirtzberger has been told regarding the situation with the Cardinals, he knows that at the very least, Tri-County is making sure they treat the situation as carefully as possible.

"Tri-County is just taking it one day at a time," Wirtzberger said. "It's just a process there for what their health department is recommending that they do. We're going to be in communication with our health department as they get released and we'll go from there."

As for the updated schedule, Havre originally was to play the Cardinals Tuesday night at Legion Field, but that game was filled in by the Glasgow Reds. From there, the Northstars play the Lewistown Redbirds in Lewistown Saturday, followed by another game versus the Redbirds at Legion Field next Monday.

Then, next Wednesday's game will be on the road in Glasgow against the Reds, followed by a doubleheader against the Great Falls Lightning at Legion Field next Thursday. Next Saturday will be a matchup against the Glendive Blue Devils in Glendive, while Havre will head to Great Falls to play the Lightning on July 20. On July 22, the Northstars will head back to the Electric City to play against the Great Falls AA Chargers. July 24 is listed as a make-up date, while it looks like Tri-County plans to get back on the field against Havre July 25 as the last game of the regular season before the unchanged postseason schedule.

As for if the Northstars' season was affected that much, Wirtzberger answered straight to the point.

"It really doesn't affect it that much," Wirtzberger said. "We're looking at a few rescheduled dates with them as they get healthy and go from there. Like I said, it's just one day at a time."

And as the Northstars push forward with their season, they will await the day when Tri-County faces them on the field once again. There is something special about the teams within the Class A North District, especially when it comes to the sportsmanship and care the teams show for each other in trying times like these.