Orphans
BASEBALL
Orphans ride young talent to another state tourney
The tradition of success for the Howard Lake Orphans amateur baseball team continued in 2020 . For the past 25 seasons , the Orphans have a winning season as they reached the Class C State Tournament once again in 2020 . With their appearance this past season , the Orphans have now reached the state tournament in 13 of the past 15 seasons .
The Orphans continued their success in 2020 with Mike Dockendorf as manager . After taking over for Mike Gagnon in 2019 , and the Orphans didn ’ t miss a beat under Dockendorf in 2019 or 2020 .
In a shortened season , Howard Lake finished with a 6-4 record in the North Star League this past season , helping them earn a spot in the Region 12C Tournament . With wins over Maple Lake and Buffalo at the Region 12C Tournament , the Orphans clinched a spot at the Class C State Tournament once again held in Springfield and Milroy .
Throughout the season , the Orphans had several young players fill and step up . Those players gained valuable experience this season , and will be key pieces to the success of the organization going forward .
Town team baseball in Howard Lake goes back a long way , starting in 1905 , when the team was named the Blue Sox .
Throughout the early 1900s , Howard Lake eventually lost the name 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 to 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 14 state tournaments , with its first one coming in 1951 , followed by 1995 , 1998 , 2001 , and finally 2006 through 2010 , 2012 , 2013 , and 2014 , and 2017 and 2018 .
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 added seating behind home plate , a batters ’ eye , and a grass infield , among other improvements . In 2018 , Memorial Park saw new bleachers added once again as they were dedicated to Mike Mitchell and his family . Mitchell was a big part of the Orphans in many ways . Throughout Mike ’ s time with the Orphans , he was a bat boy , worked the scoreboard , was a ball shagger , a player from 1957 to 1959 , and then again from 1963 to 1968 . Once his playing days were done , Mike became the team ’ s president and held that position from 1995 to 2018 . During that time , Mike was also the Memorial Park groundskeeper , and was a member of the Howard Lake City Council from 2013 to 2018 .
A new plaque was unveiled in Mike ’ s honor before the game against the Delano Athletics , and will be proudly displayed at Memorial Park for years to come .
Don and Dorthy Mitchell ’ s family also donated new bleachers in front of the press box at Memorial Park . Those new bleachers were also dedicated Friday night , as the Mitchell family were the first ones to take in a ball game in them .
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 at Memorial Park .
In 2011 , due to high water conditions on Howard Lake , Memorial Park ’ s outfield was flooded , which forced the Orphans to move their playoff games to Loretto . Work has since been done to fix the flood damage to outfield .