Northstars set for first home games of the year

After opening the season with a trip to Kalispell, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club will compete in the friendly confines of Legion Field for the first time this season. This weekend, the Northstars will host the Billings Expos AA team and the Kalispell Lakers A team, which Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger believes gives the Northstars an opportunity to find their footing early in the season.

"The expectations are the same as always, just to try and get better," Wirtzberger said. "There's a lot that we can improve on early in the season. It's good to get out there and try different lineups and see everybody play, but the main goal is just to keep on improving."

The Northstars will play the Expos three times this weekend, with a doubleheader on Saturday and then a game on Sunday. The Northstars and Expos have faced each other in non-conference games over the years, so Wirtzberger knows the Expos will be a tough test early in the season.

"They're a talented team, a disciplined team, an experienced team that's not going to go out there and beat themselves so it should be a good challenge for us," Wirtzberger said.

The Northstars will wrap up the weekend with a game against the Kalispell Lakers on Sunday afternoon. The Northstars and Lakers faced each other twice last weekend, with the teams splitting 1-1. With this recent encounter, Wirtzberger has a good idea what to expect from the Lakers.

"That's a good young team with a lot of players that are just trying to gain experience," Wirtzberger said. "They've got a lot of good pitchers. They're good defenders and pretty disciplined at the plate so overall, it'll be a pretty good challenge."

The Northstars are off to a 1-3 start this season, so they will be looking to climb their way back to .500. If they want to do that, they will need their best players to have strong performances this weekend.

Lane Kinsella has pitched the most innings for Havre this season, where he has recorded a 2.000 ERA. Terek Shipp has also gotten time on the mound this season, where he has not allowed an earned run yet. No other pitcher has more than five innings on the mound this season, so the rest of the pitching lineup will have a chance to show what they are really capable of this weekend.

The Northstars will look to get going at the plate this weekend. Through four games, Tanner Delarosa leads the team with a .667 batting average and a .714 on-base percentage. Drake Berreth and Tyson Brandon both have a batting average above .400 early in the season. Brody Nanini is off to a solid start with a team-high four RBIs this season. While the Northstars will hope to win some games this weekend, their main focus is to find their footing as a team and continue improving as a team

"The thing we're trying to do the most is just not necessarily focus on the result and just keep on trying to improve in every facet of the game," Wirtzberger said. "If we keep improving and keep on doing the little things, the wins and the scoreboard will take care of themselves. There's a lot of improvement to be done and I think these guys understand that and hopefully we can keep improving this week."

After opening the season on the road, the Northstars will finally get to play at Legion Field. While the Northstars continue to figure things out early in the season, they are happy to get the chance to do so in front of their friends, family and local baseball fans.

"It's always fun to have your home opener. I know the boys are excited to get out and play in front of their home crowd," Wirtzberger said. "Legion Field is obviously one of the best sites in the state of Montana. Weather is supposed to be good and we're looking forward to the opportunity."

The Havre Northstars will face the Billings Expos AA team in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Legion Field. The Northstars will face the Expos again on Sunday at noon and will then later play the Kalispell Lakers A team at around 2 p.m.