Cokato Kings Amateur Baseball Team

It’s a new year for the Cokato Kings amateur baseball team, filled with new goals as they prepare for their second season playing on their new home field at Veterans Memorial Park in Cokato.

Last year, the Kings finished with a 6-22 overall record, and were 2-12 against Class C North Star League teams.

This year, with several NSL teams moving down from Class B to Class C, the schedule hasn’t gotten any easier for Cokato, but that isn’t stopping them from setting their goals high this season.

“Right away, I told them (the Kings players) in one of our first practices that the goal this year is getting to regions, and finishing with a record over .500,” Cokato manager Rob Swendra said. “It is OK to have fun, but winners have more fun, and that is the attitude we have this year.

“We’ve really worked hard in spring training this year, compared to last year when we didn’t do that. The guys are taking things a little more seriously this year, and with the league changing I think we had to do that.”

The reason Swendra is so optimistic the Kings will be able to reach their lofty goals is that he feels they are more prepared to start this season than last year.

“We started spring training earlier this year, in March, and we’ve been practicing two times a week,” he said. “Our guys have had a lot of time to get ready this year.”

One of the things Cokato will have to make big improvements on this year is its offense. Last year, the Kings batted .218 as a team in the NSL, and scored just 36 runs on 30 runs batted in. Swendra says they will have to do better than that if they want to compete.

Last year wasn’t all bad for Cokato. While they only won six games, two of those were against Class B teams Hutchinson and Maple Lake. Those wins give Swendra confidence the Kings are capable of playing with top teams in the NSL.

“When we came out last year and beat Hutchinson, it was nice,” he said. “In that game we had good pitching, and hits when we needed them. I know we can do it, but we have to take it seriously, and do it this year.”

Looking at Cokato’s roster for 2011, they have several returning players, some leaving, and some new.

Departing from the Kings were seven players on last year’s roster: Kurt Salmen, Jeff Janckila, Josh Aho, Alan Hendrickson, Bryce Benda, Chris Picken, and Steve Lee.

Coming to Cokato for their first seasons are Eric Brubaker, Scott Robasse, Cody Benson, Keaton Danielson, Tucker Osterberg, and Nathan Kaczmarek.

Benson, a senior in high school, looks to be one of Cokato’s top additions this year, and Swendra hope to plug him into their lineup right away.

“I’m looking forward to him being part of the starting lineup this year,” Swendra said. “He has a good, strong arm, and is very fast. He is going to play a vital role in our success this year with our rotation.”

Despite the few losses their roster took, most of the Kings from last season are back again for 2011.

Leading the returning offensive players is Bill Aho. Aho was a staple in left field for the Kings, and led the offensive with a .345 batting average and seven RBI. Unfortunately, due to an injury, Aho will have to miss part of the Kings’ season.

Two other important returning players are Cokato’s No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers, Vinnie and Eric Pokornowski. Last season, the two brothers pitched a majority of the Kings’ 117 total NSL innings as Vinnie threw 45 and Eric had just over 31.

The two have done a great job getting themselves in shape for the season, and Swendra says they will once again be integral to Cokato’s success on the mound.

Another returning pitcher for the Kings will be young hurler Tanner Terning, who was a DC graduate last year.

Managing the pitching staff is another veteran returner, Nick Corbin.

When Corbin isn’t in the lineup, the Kings will likely have high school senior Austin Carlen behind the dish.

First baseman Abel West is another important returner. He missed most of last year after suffering an ACL and MCL tear early in the season. Swendra says the Kings are looking forward to having him back.

At the other three infield positions, Swendra says he is looking at a mixture of several players to put in those positions including Adam Barnaal, Corey Bye, and Morgan Impola.

Another infielder the Kings are unsure of, but hope he can make it back this season is A.J. Niemela.

In the outfield, along with Aho, Benson, and others is returning veteran Doug Nelson, who played a lot of center field last season.

Finally, DC’s last two returning players are Mike Enerson and Swendra himself. Both will be available to fill in where needed, and had stints on the mound, at first base, and as designated hitters.