Ethan Carlson makes the outdoors his home

As the calendar turns to July, Ethan Carlson knows that his time in the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club is coming to an end. As a senior, he has just over a month left in his Northstar career. Even though he has enjoyed his final year on the team, the fact that his time on the diamond is almost up is not lost on him.

"It's different," said Carlson on how this season feels. "It feels like every game could be my last. That's a realistic feeling this year because it's coming to an end really quick."

Carlson got into baseball at a young age by watching New York Yankees games with his father, and he fell in love with the game. He has been playing the game since then and has grown to enjoy spending time with his teammates as his favorite aspect of the game. His favorite memory as a Northstar came last year when his team qualified for the state tournament in Lewistown. Even though they failed to pick up a win and were knocked out early, Carlson enjoyed the experience because it demonstrates that the program is making progress.

"It was fun to get back there and I feel like we were starting to build a legacy again," Carlson said.

As the Northstars have already qualified for this year's state tournament, Carlson hopes to help them go even further this year with his strong play at the plate this summer. Out of all batters with at least 80 plate appearances, he leads the team with a .411 batting average. Out of all players, he is third on the team with 21 RBIs and fifth with 19 runs scored.

"The work I put in during the offseason," Carlson said on why he's produced at the plate this season. "Ryan Divish helped me a ton this winter and just going into the dugout and working on my swing every day."

The Northstars are 21-10 this season and are currently riding a nine-game winning streak heading into the final month of the regular season. With the team playing so well and with just a few weeks left in his Northstar career, Carlson hopes to go out on top.

"This team this year is pretty special," Carlson said. "I think anything short of a state championship is a disappointment."

While his baseball career may be coming to an end, Carlson participates in many other outdoor activities to pass the time. Outside of baseball, Carlson's favorite pastime over the summer is fly fishing. He fell in love with fishing when his father took him out fly fishing when he was younger and he has been fishing ever since. His favorite aspect of fishing is that it lets him get away from his life for a bit.

"It's relaxing and it gets me away from baseball. It gets my mind off things when things aren't going very good," Carlson said. "Just a good way to escape the game for a little bit during the summer time."

One of his favorite spots to fish is the Blackfeet Reservation where he gets to fish for rainbow trout. His favorite fishing memories usually come on his fishing trips up to Canada that last for six days where he gets to fish for walleye.

Outside of summer, Carlson still spends most of his time outdoors during the fall and winter as an avid hunter. His favorite game to hunt is antelope with a bow. He enjoys learning about the animals he hunts and getting into their psyche.

"I love watching animals and studying their patterns. It's cool to see how they can live in such a crazy place and how well they know it," Carlson said.

Once this baseball season is over, Carlson will move on to the next chapter of his life when he heads off to Montana Tech in Butte to study engineering.

As he moves on from the program, Carlson will have plenty to miss about Northstar baseball.

"My teammates and the memories," said Carlson on what he will miss about Northstar baseball. "Everything about it is just fun. Being with the guys and knowing they got my back the entire time."