Howard Lake Orphans Amateur Baseball Team
The 2011 season was a little different for the Howard Lake Orphans amateur baseball team.
For the first time in five years, the season didn’t end in the Class C state tournament.
The Orphans fell to the Dassel-Cokato Saints in the North Star League West Division playoffs prior to the region tournament.
Although the Orphans failed to advance to regions and state, 2011 was still a very successful season for Howard Lake.
During the regular season, the Orphans won the NSL West Division regular season title with a 15-3 record. DC did tie with Howard Lake at 15-3, but the Orphans had a better division record, thus won the division.
Leading the way in 2011 on the mound was Adam Koch, as his 0.78 ERA in league play was the lowest in the league.
Howard Lake is managed by Mike Gagnon, and his assistants are Bob Heber and Chad Burau.
Town team baseball in Howard Lake goes back a long way, starting in 1905.
Back in 1905, they were named the Blue Sox.
Throughout the early 1900s, Howard Lake eventually lost the nickname, but gained a new one in 1947.
Playing their home games in Cokato that year, as their field was being refurbished and couldn’t be played on, they started getting called the Orphans, and the name stuck.
The Orphans made their first state tournament appearance in 1951.
Town team baseball in Howard Lake ceased from 1942-1946 due to World War II, but the Orphans took back to the field after the war, and thrived until 1967, when the team folded.
The 1970s and 1980s were a dark period for town team baseball in Howard Lake, as they had no team, with many players playing in neighboring towns.
The team did try to come back in 1991, and also fielded a team in 1992, but then folded again.
That is when a group led by current manager Mike Gagnon and Kevin Gruenhagen started the Orphans back up, and it has been a success ever since.
Howard Lake has advanced to nine state tournaments, with their first one coming in 1951, followed by 1995, 1998, 2001, and finally 2006 through 2010.
The Orphans play their home games at Memorial Park in Howard Lake, which is located on the shores of Howard Lake.
Over the past decade, the park has seen a number of improvements, including seating behind home plate, a batters’ eye, and a grass infield, among other improvements.
All of those improvements, along with more to come, have made Memorial Park one of the best baseball fields in the area.
Prior to the 2009 season, new dugouts and a new backstop were added to Memorial Park.
In 2011, due to high water conditions on Howard Lake, Memorial Park’s outfield was flooded by the lake, which forced the Orphans to move their playoff games to Loretto.
In the fall of 2011, the Orphans hosted a fundraiser, which included a golf tournament and a silent auction, with the proceeds going to benefit the park.
Work was started in the fall to fix the outfield, as it was damaged due to the flooding by the lake.
Getting Memorial Park back to great condition is big for the Orphans, as they will be one of three teams to host the 2013 amateur state tournament.
Delano and Maple Lake will be the main hosts of the state tournament, but some first round games could be played in Howard Lake, along with additional games, if needed, due to rain.
The final schedule for the 2013 state tournament won’t be announced until just prior to the tournament, itself, which will start in the middle of August.
Additional improvements may be done at Memorial Park prior to the 2013 state tournament.
