North Stars head north to Canada

The Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team hasn't played a game in almost three weeks. And now, in a scheduling change, the North Stars will return to the diamond with an early Northern District road trip.

The North Stars were set to host the Fort MacLeod Royals in a doubleheader Saturday, but those games have been moved to July, and instead, the North Stars will travel north for games against the Royals Saturday in Fort MacLeod. Havre will also make a stop in Lethbridge for a double-dip with the Lethbridge Miners on Sunday.

Havre's Brandon Smith watches a pitch during an American Legion baseball game last month in Havre. The North Stars return to the diamond with four Northern District games this weekend in Canada.

And all four games will be big for the North Stars considering they are all conference games. The North Stars are off to a perfect 4-0 start and all four wins were conference games. But all of those wins came against the Great Falls Stallions, and they came much earlier in the month of May. Since Havre swept the Stallion at home three weeks ago, the North Stars have had a nine-inning game with the Great Falls Electrics cancelled due to weather, and they moved a doubleheader with Tri-County to a later date because of high school graduations up the Hi-Line.

So while the North Stars got off to a hot start, they are hoping the long layoff hasn't stopped the momentum the built. And testing that will be the Royals, who were picked as an early season favorite in the district.

Fort MacLeod boasts a strong starting pitching staff, and the team returns a host of players from last year's successful squad. Lethbridge will also test the North Stars on Sunday. The Miners are always young, as Lethbridge also boasts a Class AA squad, but they are also always competitive as the city seems to be rich with baseball talent. So there's no denying the North Stars will have their hands full with four league games this weekend.

But tough tests or not, the North Stars are certainly looking forward to getting back on the field after a long time without a game. Havre will also be at full strength as well, now that the high school spring sports season has ended. That especially means manager Mickey Williams can work his pitching rotation more and start to get into the full swing of the summer.

After Havre's road trip to Canada this weekend, the North Stars will be back at home for the Havre tournament next Friday-Sunday.