Havre hosts state baseball tournament for first time in more than 15 years

Havre is hosting the American Legion Class A State Baseball Tournament this week, an event which Havre Youth Baseball Association Board Member Brian Jenkins expects to impact Havre and the surrounding area in a variety of ways.

The tournament began Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The Havre Northstars began competing in the tournament Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Legion Field.

"I think it's a huge impact. Legion baseball has a great following anyways, and we have an outstanding local following, probably one of the best in the state. So I think that the town of Havre is excited," Jenkins said Thursday afternoon.

"And we expect somewhere around 500 people coming into town from out of town. So yeah, I think it's a big deal economically, and it's a big deal as a community event," he added.

Jenkins said the tournament typically brings in hundreds of people from all different areas of the state and elsewhere as players' relatives come to watch them play.

Jenkins said local hotels are already fully booked.

"We hope that everybody goes out and has dinner and explores the great venues that we have in Havre.

"You know, the gas stations, they're all stopping and getting gas, some of them camp, you know, some of the campsites are being rented out. I know the hotel rooms are full in Havre right now. I think a lot of that is due to our tournament going on," Jenkins said.

He said players are very excited to be playing in the state tournament after an "unofficial" tournament was held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jenkins said the National American Legion post did not have any national or regional tournaments or its World Series.

As a result, Jenkins said, for one year, Montana Legion Baseball was created and held a state tournament. He said things ran as they normally would for the most part, but things are back on track.

"I think, for all teams, it's a huge reward to the kids. You know, they work really hard, you know, in the season and offseason, and so for them to be able to look forward to a state tournament is big," Jenkins continued.

Jenkins added that Havre's players are thrilled to be hosting the tournament, saying the players take a lot of pride in both their home field and the community as a whole.

"The support we get from the community, the kids, you know, they're just in awe a lot of times with how this community steps up to support our programs. You know, that's all the way from our youth leagues on up. And I think for them, kids, too it's awesome because they get to see these older kids play at the highest level," he said.

Jenkins also said Havre's players are ready to redeem themselves after a less than stellar performance during district play.

"They're pretty pumped up, they're ready. We didn't have the greatest showing (at) districts. We've played a heck of a lot better baseball all year long. And so they're ready to bring that back on their other home field," he said.

Jenkins added that being able to host the state tournament means a lot to him personally, mentioning the association's hard-working volunteers and again discussing pride in the community.

"You know, obviously right now, we just did a beautification project. Independence Bank was a major sponsor that came in."

He added that they would also be holding some memorials at the opening ceremonies Thursday, and would be recognizing Mickey Williams," Jenkins said.

Williams was a long-time North Stars head coach. Jenkins said if he works the field this weekend, he will have worked at Legion Field seven different decades.

Jenkins said the state tournament is made up of the best of the best, the number one and two teams from across the state. He said state play is the best baseball fans are going to see.

He added that it has been more than 15 years since Havre last hosted the state tournament. He said it was well due, mentioning the top-notch quality of play and the field.

"We're just really excited and there's already talk based on our meeting last night with the American Legion commissioner - our field is, he thought, the best field he's seen all year in the state. So we're talking regionals maybe in a few years," Jenkins said.