Northstars head to Lewistown for Harold Gjerde Memorial

With the inclement weather in the state this week, it might not feel like the middle of summer. But for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club, they are marching through it because they have another midseason tournament with the Harold Gjerde Memorial Tournament this weekend in Lewistown. Some of the best teams in the state will play in the tournament, so Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger believes the Northstars will need to bring their "A" game this weekend.

"It's going to be a tough weekend with a lot of good teams," Wirtzberger said. "We're going to have to play our best if we're going to have a shot at winning a few games down there."

The Northstars will start the tournament tonight at 5:30 p.m. with a game against the Bitterroot Bucs. This will be the first time these teams have faced off this year after as they split the season series, 2-2, last summer. Wirtzberger believes the Bucs are one of the better teams in the state, so the Northstars will once again have their hands full.

The tournament will then continue Friday with a game against the Bitterroot Red Sox at 3 p.m. It will have been the second time in as many weekends that these teams will face off. The Northstars defeating the Red Sox, 5-2, last weekend in Three Forks.

The Northstars will next play Saturday at 10 a.m. against the Belgrade Bandits. Belgrade is another tough team the Northstars will have their hands full with in this tournament as Belgrade defeated Havre, 8-6, in the state tournament last season.

The Northstars will play once again Saturday at 5:30 p.m. with a contest against the Gallatin Valley Outlaws. The Northstars and Outlaws have already played twice this season with Gallatin Valley winning both those games.

The Northstars will wrap up the tournament with one last game Sunday. It will be a seeded game, so their last opponent will depend on how well they do in the first three days of the tournament.

Heading into this weekend, the Northstars have a 14-13 record, so they will need their best players to show up if they want to stay above .500. Brody Nanini has been strong for Havre this year on both sides of the mound. At the plate, he leads the team with a .403 batting average, a .531 on-base percentage, 20 RBIs and even a home run.

Nanini has also been stable on the mound as he leads the team with 43 innings pitched. In his seven starts this season, he has a 3.419 ERA and 35 strikeouts to only 12 walks.

Several other Northstars have been strong at the plate this season. Eli Cloninger has a .379 batting average, a .495 on-base percentage and 12 RBIs this season while Theron Peterson has done well with a .364 batting average, a .507 on-base percentage and 15 RBIs. If these batters can get going, the Northstars should be able to compete this weekend.

Wirtzberger believes the Northstars should be refreshed with three days off heading into the tournament. Havre originally had a doubleheader against the Tri County Cardinals in Conrad scheduled for Tuesday, but inclement weather caused the doubleheader to be moved. With the extra time, Wirtzberger believes it helps his team, especially after their tournament in Three Forks this past weekend.

"I think it'll actually work towards our advantage," Wirtzberger said. "It was a pretty long weekend over in Three Forks getting five games in three days so it'll help our pitching staff and free some guys up to pitch this weekend that probably otherwise wouldn't have."

But there is plenty to improve on for the Northstars. In this last tournament, the Northstars were shut out twice, so Wirtzberger hopes to see more from the offense this weekend.

"I'd like to see our bats come alive and be a little bit more consistent," Wirtzberger said. "That's something that we're going to look to improve on as we go forward because if you're going to win games, you got to hit the ball."

The Northstars will begin the Harold Gjerde Memorial Tournament in Lewistown tonight at 5:30 p.m. with a game against the Bitterroot Bucs.