Havre Northstars baseball started out the 2025 season with two wins over the Kalispell Lakers at Legion Field this past Sunday. New Media Broadcasters got the thoughts of head coach Ryan Divish following the doubleheader sweep.
“We finally just started getting some baserunners on base,” Divish said. “We swung the bat really well (and) just didn’t have a lot to show for it.”
“But I think the kids were anxious,” Divish continued. “They were happy to play. The weather was nice. It’s opening day. Everybody’s excited.”
“We were a little impatient early, but I think we started settling in and had a better approach at the plate and that allowed us to get some baserunners,” Divish said. “For the most part, I was pretty happy. I didn’t have a whole lot to complain about for the first two games.”
Divish took this managing opportunity not wanting to take anything away from the players on the field, but he was still able to weigh in on keeping his emotions in check knowing that he has now embarked on a journey three decades in the making.
“(I) definitely had a little bit of butterflies when I got up. I think I was probably just more overwhelmed with all the stuff just to get ready; all the little details,” Divish said.
“Once we got playing, it was fun,” Divish continued. “For me, we wanted to see how (the players) reacted. We weren’t going to try and overcoach (and) do a lot of strategy.”
“We just wanted them to get out and play (and) have some fun,” Divish said. “They’re older kids, so they should know and they played hard, they had fun, (and) I thought we attacked.”
The Northstars will have a long layoff between games. Divish said what his team will be working on in the interim.
“We made a few mistakes like mental mistakes and things like that, but it wasn’t anything terrible (and) certainly correctable,” Divish said.
“We’re just going to continue to work on a lot of our fundamentals and our approach at the plate,” Divish continued.
“(The players) have to learn you have to be patient,” Divish said. “You have to let the ball travel and not try and do too much with it. I think that’ll be the big thing we work on.”
Havre will be back out to Legion Field on May 10 for a doubleheader against the Miles City Mavericks.
