Northstars set for home stand to end regular season

The regular season will finally come to an end for the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club this weekend. Because of a rain out earlier this week, the Northstars will play six games from today to this Sunday, all at Legion Field. In conference games against the Lethbridge Miners, the Medicine Hat Knights and the Vauxhall Spurs, Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger hopes the Northstars can handle the workload.

"It's just turned into a longer stretch than we had anticipated with the cancellation but I guess the good thing is we get to play them all at home," Wirtzberger said. "That should be exciting and all three teams are good challenges for us to end the season."

The Northstars will start the weekend tonight at 6 p.m. with a doubleheader against the Lethbridge Miners. The Northstars were supposed to play Lethbridge on the road earlier this week, but rain caused the games to be postponed to tonight at Legion Field.

The Northstars will be looking to pick up a win against Lethbridge tonight as they have an 0-3 record against the Miners so far this season. Last month, the Northstars lost, 15-2, to the Miners in their first meeting. Earlier this month, the Northstars lost by scores of 6-3 and 7-4 to Lethbridge at Legion Field. Heading into tonight's games, the Northstars know they will have their hands full.

"Lethbridge is about as complete of a team we've played against all year. They can pitch it, they can play defense and they can hit it just as good as anybody," Wirtzberger said. "We both have the same conference record at 20-2 so I know everybody's anticipating these games."

The Northstars will continue the weekend Saturday with a doubleheader against the Medicine Hat Knights starting at 1 p.m. The Northstars are 2-0 against the Knights this season as Havre won 17-11 and 13-3 in a sweep last month. But Wirtzberger believes the Knights will provide a tougher fight this weekend.

"They've gotten a whole lot better since the last time we've seen them," Wirtzberger said. "They're a very young team that can swing the bat, and they're not going to give us anything."

The Northstars will wrap up the weekend and the regular season Sunday with a doubleheader against the Vauxhall Spurs starting at 1 p.m. Havre is 2-0 against Vauxhall with a 7-2 and a 7-3 victory last month. But at the end of a long weekend, the Northstars must be prepared to battle.

"They're a talented team that we feel like they are just starting their season and starting to put things together," Wirtzberger said. "They can hit, they've got some guys who can pitch and I have no doubt that they'll put it together on defense, so it's going to be a great challenge."

Also on Sunday, the Northstars will hold their senior day to celebrate their seniors. Drake Berreth and Kale Reno will be honored as the super seniors on the team while Conner McKay, Brody Nanini and Lane Kinsella will be honored as the graduating seniors this year. As they get set to move on from the program, Wirtzberger wants these seniors to know what they have meant to this program.

"It's a special group. I've gotten to coach them ever since I started with this job in 2018," Wirtzberger said. "It will be an emotional day for all of us with it being the last time they get to play regular season games at Legion Field. These guys have worked their tails off to put this program in a position to be successful every year and I'll be forever grateful for that."

In their final season of the regular season, the Northstars will not have it easy. With six games across three days, the Northstars will have to push through possible fatigue. But with their experience in tournaments throughout the season, Wirtzberger believes the Northstars are equipped to handle it.

"Our pitching is strong and it's deep so I feel like if anybody can handle this challenge, it's us," Wirtzberger said. "It is a challenge and we can't take it for granted so the boys are going to have to come out and pitch and play defense well."

The Northstars' best players will look to lead the way as they try to navigate the weekend slate. On the mound, Terek Shipp leads the team with 47.2 innings pitched as he has 47 strikeouts and a 2.643 ERA this season. Reno should also get some time pitching this weekend as he has a 5-3 record and 37 strikeouts. Kinsella will look to pitch well this weekend as he has a 5-1 record, 40 strikeouts and 3.985 ERA this season.

The Northstars will also look to stay hot at the plate this weekend. McKay leads the team with a .379 batting average while also recording 26 RBIs this season. Ezra Pyle looks to make an impact at the plate where he has a .371 batting average and 32 RBIs this summer. Berreth seeks to continue his strong season as he has a .363 batting average and 37 RBIs for the Northstars.

Heading into their final weekend of the season, the Northstars hold a record of 34-15-1. They have found their stride lately with an 18-2 record in their past 20 games. With the postseason coming up next weekend, Wirtzberger hopes the Northstars can keep their composure as they try to end the regular season on a strong note.

"I just want to see them focus on their process," Wirtzberger said. "It's about how we carry ourselves and how we go about our process so hopefully we can keep on getting better there and head into next week with some momentum playing our best baseball of the season."

The Havre Northstars will begin the weekend tonight at 6 p.m. with a doubleheader against the Lethbridge Miners at Legion Field. The Northstars will then play the Medicine Hat Knights in a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The Northstars will then play the Vauxhall Spurs in a doubleheader Sunday starting at 1 p.m.