Havre Northstars spring into a new season

The Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team is hoping to start their 2019 season this Sunday in Lewistown and for the second straight year, they will start with a new manager.

But while Patch Wirtzberger, the new head coach for the Northstars will be coaching his first game as a full-time manager Sunday, he has held the position before on an interim basis and now is ready to lead the Northstars on their 2019 campaign.

"So far things have been going well," Wirtzberger said. "It's been nice to be able to get out on the field a little earlier than we did last year. We have a lot of new faces so we are just trying to see how it all fits together."

Wirtzberger takes over a team that finished 20-24-1 (6th in Northern A) last season and lost consecutive games at the Northern A District tournament after being in the middle of the pack most of the season under the direction of Mickey Williams. Williams has stepped down from being the head coach, but will still be an assistant under Wirtzberger.

In addition to some managerial changes, there will also be some significant changes on the field as key contributors such as Jake Sedahl, Brenden Danielson, Brendan Garden and Trey Murphy have all moved on.

"We are going to have to find a replacement for Sedahl," Wirtzberger said. "So that's going to be a challenge but we have a few options there. We actually have a lot of versatile players and that can give me a lot of different things I can do with the lineup."

However, some other key players will be back such as Kennedy McKay, who is going to play another year of Legion baseball, as well as Ethan Roberts, Austin Delarosa, Tony Antley and Quinn Reno.

"Those guys are going to be really important," Wirtzberger said. "We are going to need those veterans to help with some of these younger guys that are in their first or second year of playing. We are going to have to depend a lot on that leadership."

Having a deep pitching staff is always going to be a key to building a successful baseball club and while the Northstars will have to rely on some new arms, McKay, Antley, Delarosa and Roberts all did extensive work on the mound last season for Havre. Tyrel Kjersem and Bridger Staples are two other names to watch on the mound as potential starters.

"Kennedy won't be back until Mid-May after school," Wirtzberger said. "But he threw a lot of innings last season. So did Tony Antley, Austin Delarosa also did a nice job for us. Tyrel Kjersem also did a nice job, Quinn Reno and Bridger Staples did too, so I think we have a lot of options, we just have to see how things work out this first month or two."

Many of those players were also integral to the offense last season too and even though top hitter Sedahl won't return, the Northstars return five veterans that all hit at least .300 last season.

Roberts will be one of the top weapons this season at the top of the lineup for Havre as he hit .375 last season and was second on the team with 44 runs, first in triples with four, as well as tying for the team-lead in doubles with eight. McKay is another solid offensive player that didn't stuff the stat sheet last season but did put together a very solid .350 average to go along with an on-base percentage of .494. McKay scored 21 runs last season and had four extra-base hits.

Reno, who should be near the top of the batting order along with Roberts, will be looking to build on a pretty solid first season with the Northstars in 2018. For starters, he hit .300 but was able to get on base at a .406 percent clip. On top of that, Reno finished with seven doubles, 19 RBIs and 20 runs scored. He also drew 20 walks last season, which is the most of any player returning on the roster.

Reno adds another potential arm for Wirtzberger to work with, however, there are a number of others that might see time on the mound this season due to innings limitations and some of those guys are Hunter Lovenguth, Trenton Maloughney, Eli Cloninger, Carson Lunak and Kelden Sullivan, who will all see time in the field too. Kjersem, Cloninger and Staples should be key parts of the offense along with Sullivan, who offers a blend of power and speed at the plate.

"Offensively, things are really going to have to come together," Wirtzberger said. "We need to put the ball in play and be smart; move guys over and do all those little things. Another big thing is getting timely hits and not leaving so many guys left on base."

In terms of defensive positions, there should be a lot of flexibility. Antley is listed as a first baseman right now, while McKay, Reno and Maloughney are all guys listed that could see time at catcher. Others that could play in the infield include Delarosa, Kjersem, Staples, Ethan Carlson, Cloninger and Sullivan, while some that could see time in the outfield are Caleb Allestad, Roberts, Luvenguth, Maloughney and Caden Jenkins.

In the district, things will be competitive again with teams like Lewistown, Vauxhall, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat all looking solid along with Fort McLeod, Great Falls, Tri-County and Havre which is looking still for its first appearance at the Legion A state tournament in more than a decade.

"Trying to think about state or anything like that is looking too far ahead for us," Wirtzberger said. "Right now, we are just trying to figure out how things fit together and we get a chance to play Lewistown, one of the top dogs in our district and we will get a chance to test ourselves and see where we stand."

The first pitch Sunday in the season opener between Havre and Lewistown is set for 1 p.m. in what will be a nine-inning, non-league game.