Play Ball: Memorial Tournament on tap

Daniel Horton Havre Daily News [email protected]

The Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team got a short break due to two days of rain this weekend, but come Thursday the North Stars will be thrown right back into action. Today through Sunday they will host the Northstar Memorial tournament at Legion Field in Havre. Today, the North Stars (3-5, 2-2) will get the tournament started playing host to the Lewistown Redbirds at 4:30. Then at 7, the North Stars will also host the Wolf Point Yellowjackets. And after two games today, Havre will then host the Glendive Blue Devils at 9 p.m. Friday, the Gallatin Valley Outlaws at 9 p.m. Saturday and finally the Glasgow Reds at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. “It should be some good ball,” North Stars head coach Steve Fanning said. “I would really like the fans of Havre to come out, it's been a couple of years since we have really had a good showing. Hopefully we can get some fans up there and start having our Memorial the way it used to be.” To start the tournament, the North Stars will be looking for redemption. After dropping two games to the Redbirds earlier this season in Lewistown, they will be looking to get one back in Havre. And it should be a good game to start the tournament because both teams are equally matched in all areas of play. And the matchup against the Yellowjackets should be a good one as well for the North Stars. The Yellowjackets normally have an outstanding team, and are often at the mix of state champion hopefuls. “We have to go out and get off on the right foot on Thursday,” Fanning said. “We need to get our bats going and hopefully by Saturday or Sunday we will be rolling.” But knowing the Yellowjackets have talent once again this year is really all the North Stars know about them coming into this weekend. The two teams haven't met since the North Stars went to the state tournament three years ago. Friday presents another tough opponent for the Havre with the Blue Devils waiting in the wings this time around. The Blue Devils are always a competitive ball club and are always well coached. And the North Stars have a good idea of what to expect on Friday night because the two teams meet at the Gallatiin Valley tournament every year. “They always give us a pretty good game,” Fanning said of the Blue Devils. “We look at every game in this tournament as competitive and they will have a pretty good weekend I am sure.” When the North Stars face the Outlaws on Saturday, they will be facing one of the top teams in the state. The Outlaws are another well coached club, and find strength in their numbers. But even being a state tournament squad, the North Stars found success against the Outlaws after sweeping them last season. “I know they are tough,” Fanning said. “And they are going to be right there until the end. We kind of have a little rivalry with them and we always try to step it up a couple notches when we play them.” On Sunday, Havre will wrap up the tournament with another team that is somewhat of a mystery. The Glasgow Reds are normally an up and down team, and since the North Stars haven't seen the Reds in a number of years they don't know where they are this season. “They always come in and compete,” Fanning said. “With them it comes down to pitching.” Pitching will play a big part for the Glasgow Reds because of their lack of numbers. It's a long weekend and if they struggle on the mound, they could be worn down by Sunday night. The North Stars have five different opponents in four days of play this weekend. And with five different opponents come five different skill levels and styles of play as well. So as far as preparation goes, the they are looking to do the same thing in each matchup. To be successful this weekend, the North Stars are taking it one game at a time. They will need to play solid defense, get good outings on the mound and fallow that all up with good at bats. “We just have to come out and play every facet of the game,” Fanning said. “And we have to do it for seven innings per ball game. That gets long when playing that many ball games, so it's going to be a real test for these kids.” The North Stars are entering the tournament with a week of rest. But while their legs will be fresh from cancellations, the week off also presents a negative. It's still early in the season, and the Havre pitchers still need their reps on the mound. “There are guys that needed to throw,” Fanning said. “They haven't had work for a couple of weeks and they needed some time on the mound.” Havre will house a lot of baseball talent this weekend, and the North Stars are going to have their work cut out for them. And besides the five tough teams they will see, the Strathmore Reds and the Lethbridge Spitz Miners will also compete at the Memorial tournament this weekend. “It's going to be a challenging weekend,” Fanning said. “It's a way to say baseball season has started, get ready. But we want to come out of here with at least three wins this weekend, and that's saying a lot with the competition we will face.”