Havre Northstars look for another strong season

As the summer soon approaches, it is finally time for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club to begin its season. Heading into this season, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger believes this Northstar squad has potential.

"It's an exciting group of athletes with a pretty good mix of experience and youth," Wirtzberger said. "It seems to be a group that comes to practice with a good work ethic every day so we're excited about what it can be but there's still a long way to go."

The Northstars are coming off a season where they went 38-23-1 and won a couple of games at the state tournament. Heading into this summer, the Northstars return several players from that squad.

Brody Nanini returns for his senior season to both pitch and bat for the Northstars. He recorded a .415 batting average and 70 RBIs at the plate while he went 8-6 as a pitcher with a 2.645 ERA last summer.

Even though they both graduated, Kale Reno and Drake Berreth will both return for the Northstars. Seniors Conner McKay and Lane Kinsella also return to make an impact for the Northstars this summer.

Other experienced players returning for Havre include Terek Shipp, Colter Solomon, Chason Mader, Jevin Jenkins and Tanner Delarosa. Freshman Ezra Pyle returns for his second season after making an impact for the Northstars last summer. Other freshmen who will look to make an impact this season include Tommy Lewis, Tyson Brandon, Logan Kinsella and Quinn Elliot.

"That's a really exciting group for us as they start to get more experienced and mature," Wirtzberger said about his younger players. "I would expect them to step up into a big spot this year."

The Northstars will have a busy schedule ahead of them over the next few months. They start the season this weekend with road games against the Kalispell Lakers AA and A teams. The Northstars then host the Billings Expos AA team in their home opener April 29. The Northstars then play both the Expos and Lakers the following day.

The Northstars then play the Great Falls Chargers in their first conference game at home May 6. The following weekend, the Northstars head on the road to play the Laurel Dodgers, the Billings Blue Jays and the Billings Cardinals. A few days later, the Northstars will play the Great Falls Chargers AA team.

Later in May, the Northstars will scrimmage the Great Falls Voyagers and then hold their alumni game. In between those events, the Northstars will once again face the Great Falls AA team.

The Northstars begin June with the Havre Jamboree starting June 2. Over the following weeks, the Northstars will compete in tournaments such as the Magris Invitational in Three Forks and the Harold Gjerde Memorial in Lewistown.

Through the rest of June and July, the Northstars will get into the thick of their conference schedule with games against the Vauxhall Spurs, the Fort Mcleod Royals, the Tri County Cardinals, the Lethbridge Miners and the Lewistown Redbirds.

"There's a lot of state tournament games on our schedule and then of course, the full conference slate, too, so there's a lot to look forward to," Wirtzberger said. "It'll be very challenging but I think it's something that will help us in the long run."

The Northstars will begin the postseason with the North District Tournament in Vauxhall starting July 20. If they do well there, they will advance to the state tournament in Laurel starting on July 27.

For the first time in program history, the Havre Northstars will host the Northwest Regionals at Legion Field. From Aug. 4 through Aug. 8, the best teams from Montana and neighboring states will compete for the regional championship.

"It's a really huge opportunity for our program to be the host of that tournament," Wirtzberger said. "It's also a lot of responsibility for our guys to put in the work and the effort to show they belong with the best in the region and it's something that we can absolutely do. It's just going to take, hopefully, all summer and everybody working together and going in the right direction to get there."

If the Northstars are going to accomplish their goals this season, they will need to be executing in every area of the game. Wirtzberger believes the Northstars will be strong in their hitting and pitching this season, but he believes there is one area that they need to work on over the course of the season.

"Defense will be key to see how we do this season. I think pitching will be one of our strengths," Wirtzberger said. "Just watching these guys here in the offseason and what we have coming back from last year, I think we can hit the ball fairly well. We can hit it with anybody. If we can put it all together on defense, this team is going to be a tough team to beat come July and August."

The Havre Northstars will begin the season with a road doubleheader against the Kalispell Lakers AA team this Saturday starting at 3 p.m.