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North Stars hitting the road

Moving forward, the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team will continue to improve. Wins have not come easy for the North Stars this season, and with a tough road still ahead, finding ways to win will continue to be tough.

But the North Stars are up to the challenge, and they will surely be tested this weekend.

Today through Sunday, the North Stars will be in Deer Lodge for the Deer Lodge Tournament. Today they will face the Butte Muckers, and will have several more games moving forward. Saturday the North Stars will face the Missoula Frontiers, followed by the Deer Lodge Wranglers. And Sunday, Havre will face the Missoula Pioneers, followed by playoff games Sunday afternoon. Depending on how the North Stars do today and on Saturday, they will play again at 3:30 p.m. or 6 p.m.

“I look for us to compete pretty well at this tournament,” North Stars head coach Danny Wirtzberger said. “I'm looking forward to just playing games and not having to worry about field work and everything else.  Our players are extremely excited to be going on the road, and utilizing some of this time for team building.”

Whether the North Stars are facing the Muckers, Frontiers, Wranglers, or Pioneers, this is going to be a tough weekend. Each team will challenge Havre on the diamond, but the North Stars can’t afford to hurt themselves if they are looking to capture any wins. The bats have come alive in recent weeks, with Thurman Holdsclaw, Spencer Ross, David Denny, and Gaving Gunderson all swinging the bat very well, but the pitching and defense has to get better. In the North Stars’ last outing, they gave up 23 runs in a game with seven defensive errors. And while the North Stars won the game prior, they gave up six errors, as well.

Tyrell Pierce has really grown as one of the top Havre pitchers this season, and has been a spark on the mound in his last two outings. Pierce will need a couple solid outings this weekend, but other pitchers in Ross, Chris Vukasin, Dane Warp, and Jase Kato, also need to find a way to start pitching in wins.

"Tyrell Pierce is really coming along,” Wirtzberger said. “He is 2-0 in his last two starts, and has developed a second pitch, which I love to see."

The North Stars will look to perform well this weekend, looking to work out the final wrinkles before a long stretch of divisional games. Today the North Stars will face the Butte Muckers, followed by the Missoula Frontiers and the Deer Lodge Wranglers Saturday. Sunday, Havre will face the Missoula Pioneers, followed by a playoff game. Depending on how the North Stars do, they will play again at 3:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. Havre is back at home June 27.

 

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