Home stretch for North Stars

The Havre North Stars American Legion baseball club have just one week to get ready for the Northern A District Tournament. But before the North Stars get to Fort MacLeod, Alberta for the postseason, they’ll play four very important games north of the border this week.

Havre starts its final road stretch of district play today when it travels to Vauxhall, Alberta for a doubleheader against the Vauxhall Spurs. The North Stars then play their final two games of district play Wednesday in Medicine Hat.

And all four games will be significant for Havre. The North Stars are currently 8-12 in league play, and they are in a logjam in the Northern District standings. Depending on how the final four games of district play go, the North Stars could finish anywhere from third place to last place in the league standings. Havre is battling Vauxhall, Lethbridge, Fort MacLeod and Tri-County for seeding in the upcoming district tournament, while Medicine Hat likely has the No. 1 seed locked up, with the Great Falls Electrics likely to finish in second place.

But being on the road, and with district seeding on the line, Havre has an opportunity to make a statement in Canada. The North Stars split their home doubleheader with the Spurs last week in Havre, while they also split with Medicine Hat last month in Havre. The North Stars also bring in a rested pitching staff for the final push. Havre hasn’t played since last Thursday night’s two-game sweep at the hands of Fort MacLeod, meaning all of Havre’s pitchers should be rested and ready to go this week. Havre counts on Tyrell Pierce, Jeff Miller, Dylan Carpenter and Chris Vukasin to do most of the pitching each week.

While Havre closes out district play in Canada, the regular season won’t end until Saturday night. The North Stars will travel to Whitefish on Friday for a pair of nine-inning games against the Glacier Twins. Glacier is a Western A powerhouse this season, so the final two games of the season against the Twins should be just what the North Stars need to prepare for the district tournament.

Today’s Northern District games between Havre and Vauxhall start at 4 in Vauxhall. Wednesday’s doubleheader between the North Stars and Knights will get underway at 1 p.m. in Medicine Hat. The Northern A District Tournament is set for July 23-27.