Young North Stars looking to grow

In American Legion baseball, youth can be a good thing. And it's certainly should be for the upstart Havre North Stars as they embark on a brand new season.

The North Stars, who will open their season Sunday against the Class AA Great Falls Chargers, have just one 18-year-old on their roster this season. And though second-year head coach Dan Wirtzberger has several more key returning players, the North Stars will field a young and hungry team this season.

Spencer Ross is a key returning veteran on an otherwise young Havre North Stars American Legion baseball club. The North Stars will begin their season Sunday, and make their home debut May 4.

"I'm excited about this group," Wirtzberger said. "These are really good kids. They work hard, they are really stepping up and they're a fun group to be around.

"I look at us as a really young team," he continued. "We won't be a team that's going to make a lot of noise early in the season. But my goal is for us to be a team that can make some noise at the district tournament. I want for us to be a team that no one wants to play at the end of the season."

Returning for the North Stars for his final year of baseball is Thurman Holdsclaw, and he'll look to really lead the team, both in the field, at the plate and in the dugout. As Havre's best athlete, and most experienced baseball player, Holdsclaw will really shoulder the load for the North Stars this season. He's a speedy outfielder, he can catch, he can fly around the bases and he can hit for power and average.

"Thurman is a returning all-stater," Wirtzberger said. "He's a great athlete and he's going to have to shoulder a lot of the offensive burden for us, especially early in the season. He'll have other commitments throughout the summer with football and things, but he's going to be our leader when we have him. He'll play mostly center field, and he'll hit in the three-spot for us. And we're just very fortunate to have someone with his talent."

Also back for the North Stars are several now veterans. David Denny is Havre's returning first basemen, and another player who really grew at the plate last season. Spencer Ross is only 17, but he's entering his fourth year in the Legion program, and he'll be key to Havre's pitching staff, a staff that also includes second-year standouts Tyrell Pierce and Jase Kato. Ross, a lefty, Pierce and Kato will lead Wirtzberger's pitching staff this season, a staff which last stalwarts Brandon Smith and Justin Jensen from last season. Ross and Pierce will also play in the outfield, while Kato will play in the infield for the North Stars. Chance Pitkanen, another returnee, will also be asked to step up his role this season, and could see plenty of Havre's catching duties.

Adding to Havre's young team this season will be four players from outside the city limits. Chinook's Travis Roth and Gavin Gunderson, along with Harlem's Deion Hammett all played together on the Havre Babe Ruth championship team a year ago, as well as the successful 15-year-old all-star team. Roth and Gunderson will both do some pitching this season, and contribute in the field and at the plate as well. Chinook's Clint Popchoke, who came to Montana from Texas, will also add to Havre's depth, a depth that has Wirtzberger with 18 players in the dugout, which is up from the past two years.

"Doug Denny really does a great job of recruiting for the Babe Ruth," Wirtzberger said. "And it's a credit to him, we were able to get the Chinook and Harlem kids out for Legion this year. Those four kids will really add to our program. They are good ball players and good kids and we're really excited to have them on the team."

There are also key newcomers from Havre as well, particularly standout athlete Dane Warp, who opted to forgo his final year of Babe Ruth. Warp should move right into Havre's pitching rotation, as well as be a key contributor in the outfield and at the plate. Ryne Antley also comes out of a successful Babe Ruth career, and could instantly help the North Stars, especially behind the plate. Adding to Havre's depth this season will be Bryce Kinsella, Kyle Gooch, Brady Wolf, Dustin Odegard and Daniel Miller. Chris Vukasin, who played for the North Stars last season, could also return once the school year ends.

And while Wirtzberger is excited about his numbers being up, being a young team, the North Stars will face an uphill battle against a rigorous schedule. But that's part of the plan to help the North Stars grow into a team that could be a force come late June and early July.

"I wanted to build a tough schedule, one that will make us better," Wirtzberger said. "And our non-conference schedule is very tough. There will be no automatic wins on this schedule. Every game will be tough, tough games. We have some quality teams coming to our tournament, we play some really tough games away from home and I just think that's really going to help us grow into the team we're hoping we can be.

As for our district, we have some young, quality teams like Great Falls, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat," he added. "Those teams are feeder teams for bigger programs, so they have a lot of young, fundamentally sound kids who just love to play the game, and they're also really solid. I think Vauxhall will be a tough team in our district this year too. And hopefully, by the end of the season, we can be a team that none of those teams wants to face at the district tournament."

Havre was set to open the season last Sunday against Class A powers Lewistown and Belgrade but those games were cancelled because of weather. This Sunday's season-opener in Great Falls will be tough against the AA Chargers, as will Havre's own Havre Jamboree June 7-9. The North Stars also open their home schedule against a team from Calgary May 4-5, and they will attend the always-tough Tom Taleff Memorial in Great Falls May 24-25, which is just part of the difficult non-conference schedule. The North Star's conference opener is set for May 12 when they take on the Great Falls Electrics in Great Falls.

"I'm excited for this season," Wirtzberger said. "I'm excited about the kids we have out. Right now, we just want to improve. We want to get better every day. We want to become a really fundamentally sound baseball team. That's our main goals right now."

Havre is set to play a pair of games against the AA Chargers Sunday at Centene Stadium in Great Falls. The North Star's home opener is slated for May 4 at 7 p.m. against Calgary.

2013 North Stars Home Games

May 4 vs Calgary 7 p.m.

May 5 vs Calgary 11 a.m.

May 5 vs Calgary 1 p.m.

May 31 vs GF Bolts 7 p.m.

June 2 vs Medicine Hat 1 p.m.

June 7-9 Havre Jamboree

June 12 vs GF Hawks 5:30 p.m.

June 15 vs Ft. MacLeod 5 p.m.

June 19 vs GF Hawks 5:30 p.m.

June 27 vs GF Electrics 5 p.m.

July 1 vs Tri-County 5 p.m.

July 16 vs Vauxhall 5 p.m.

July 19 vs Lehtbridge 5 p.m.

Northern A Districts at Vauxhall July 25