Northstars ready to jam at Legion Field

One of the many traditions of the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball team is the jamboree they host every summer, and the 2019 Havre Jamboree is set for this weekend, with the three-day, 12-game baseball extravaganza scheduled to start Friday night.

The first game will feature the Medicine Hat Knights and the Montana Regulators. The Northstars will then play the first of four games in three days as they will take on the Fort MacLeod Royals Friday night at 9 p.m.

The Northstars will also get to play under the lights Saturday night, with back-to-back games against Fort MacLeod and Medicine Hat starting at 7 p.m. Havre will play Fort MacLeod first before taking on Medicine Hat in the nightcap at 9 p.m. Havre will also play the Montana Regulators Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be played at Legion Field.

"That's always fun for the kids to get underneath the lights on their home field," Northstars head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "And the Jamboree usually draws a good crowd so the atmosphere is kind of electric. Hopefully we can draw some energy from that."

Wirtzberger also said that playing four games in three days will give his team a chance to fine tune some things before for heading back into Northern A District play next Tuesday in Lethbridge.

"Tournament play is always good for the team," Wirtzberger said. "We get to try out a lot of different lineups and defensive alignments to see what works the best. But most of all it is an opportunity for everyone to stay sharp."

Havre (6-4, 4-2) comes into the jamboree fresh off a split with both Fort MacLeod and Medicine Hat last weekend. Now, the Northstars will get a chance to play those teams again in non-conference action and while winning is obviously important, Wirtzberger also wants to see his team's fundamentals improve.

"I want to see them improve on what we didn't do well last weekend," he said. "We are familiar with all the teams we are playing, so we know what to expect. We need to stop giving up so many extra bases on the defensive end. On offense, I would like to see more of what we did on Sunday. Hit the ball hard, make their pitchers work hard for outs and not make mistakes on the bases."

The Northstars won't be the only Havre team in action as the Havre All-Stars, a 15U team, will also take part in the Jamboree and will play Saturday against the Great Falls Thunder at 9 a.m. and later in the day against the Montana Regulators at 5 p.m.

With four games in three days, Wirtzberger will need all hands on deck. Some of the guys you should expect to see on the mound are Tony Antley, Kennedy McKay, Trenton Maloughney and Tyrel Kjersem, along with Carson Lunak.

Antley and Ethan Roberts have been leading the way offensively for the Northstars as both are hitting over .400. Antley leads the team at .484; Roberts is batting .414. Quinn Reno is also hitting .361. He is second on the team in runs scored with 10. Roberts has a team-high 17, while Antley leads the team in RBIs with 10.

The Northstars will open the Havre Jamboree Friday night against Fort Macleod at 9 at Legion Field.

Havre Jamboree

Friday

*Medicine Hat Knights vs Montana Regulators-7:00p

*Havre Northstars vs Fort Macleod Royals-9:00p

Saturday

*Havre Allstars vs Great Falls Thunder-9:00a

*Montana Regulators vs Fort Macleod Royals-11:00a

*Glasgow Reds vs Great Falls Thunder-1:00p

*Medicine Hat Knights vs Glasgow Reds-3:00p

*Montana Regulators vs Havre Allstars-5:00p

*Fort Macleod Royals vs Havre Northstars-7:00p

*Medicine Hat Knights vs Havre Northstars-9:00p

Sunday

*Fort Macleod Royals vs Great Falls Thunder-9:00a

*Medicine Hat Knights vs Great Falls Thunder-11:00a

*Havre Northstars vs Montana Regulators-1:00p