Northstar success brought Regionals to Legion Field

Over the past couple years, the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club has gained more publicity with it hosting both the district and the state tournaments. Now this weekend, the Northstars will get to host the most important tournament of the year: the Northwest Regional tournament.

But the Northstars had to work for the opportunity to host this weekend's tournament. The process began in 2021 when the Northstars hosted the state tournament. Once that was over with, the state commissioner asked the Northstars if they would like to host the regional tournament when the state of Montana had the bid.

The Northstars had to show that as a team, they were worthy of hosting such a tournament. Thankfully for them, the Northstars had a strong season in 2022 where they qualified for the state tournament. With the successful season, came the offer to host this year's regional tournament. And the Northstars did not refuse.

"Obviously we jumped at the opportunity," Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger said. "A lot of hard work from a lot of people behind the scenes to make our facility what it is and host the tournaments that we have and make them successful and fun for all the teams involved. Kudos to the players on the team for putting in the work to gain the respect of the people around the region to say that we can host the tournament."

The double-elimination tournament will run from today through Tuesday at Legion Field. The tournament will determine the champion of the northwest region of the United States in American Legion baseball, with teams from Montana, Utah, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming competing.

Along with the teams coming to Havre to compete for the regional title, many fans and families from multiple states will be coming to the Hi-Line. With an influx of so many people to Havre this weekend, Wirtzberger hopes that local businesses such as restaurants and hotels will benefit. With the support that local businesses give to the Northstars, Wirtzberger believes that this influx of revenue will be a worthy thank you.

"Our hope is that we put in all this work to host this tournament so that the community can benefit and they can see what they're donating their money to and it can come back," Wirtzberger said. "We wouldn't be able to play without the businesses that support us and it's good to be able to boost up that economy for a weekend."

Of course, the focus of the weekend will be what happens on the diamond. The Northstars earned a spot in the tournament as the host. But that does not mean they did not put in the effort during the season to make it this far.

This summer, the Northstars accumulated an overall record of 43-18-1 and won the Class A North District championship. While the Northstars have shown themselves a capable program, Wirtzberger hopes that the publicity this tournament brings will help them continue to grow and improve as a team.

"I hope that it raises the awareness and the popularity of our program so that we can start getting more kids to play baseball," Wirtzberger said. "The more kids that you get out, the better chance you have of having a competitive team."

Looking at the present, the Northwest Regionals should provide an exciting weekend of baseball on the Hi-Line. Along with enjoying the games at Legion Field, Wirtzberger hopes that players and fans from out of state will learn what Havre and the rest of the Hi-Line have to offer.

"I hope that they take away that Havre is a great host city. We've got restaurants and hotels and hospitality," Wirtzberger said. "I hope they enjoy their time here in our town and I hope that they enjoy our field and our facility."

The Northwest Regional Tournament began today at Legion Field. It will run through the weekend until Tuesday with the championship game at noon the last day.