EAGAN, Minn. - With all of their highly-competitive tournaments scheduled coming into this summer, Cloquet 12-year-old traveling baseball team head coach Dennis Conklin reminded his boys of one goal - to play in the maximum amount of games.
With their most recent third place finish in Minnesota Baseball Tournament state championships two weekends ago in Eagan, Conklin's boys met their goal.
"We went to five tournaments this summer and played in the maximum amount of games in every tournament," Conklin said about his club. "That was our goal. To play as many games as possible and the boys did just that."
Their route to third place at state began with pool play, as the No. 3-ranked Lumberjacks first rolled past both Stillwater and Red Wing before losing by a single run to Eden Prairie. With their 2-1 record, Cloquet then defeated Sibley East 7-6 in the bracket's opening round, followed by an 8-4 quarterfinal win over Farmington to advance to the semifinals.
In the Final Four, Cloquet was defeated by Eastview 6-1. However, they bounced back strong with an impressive 6-2 victory over Burnsville to claim third place - one place lower than last year's runner-up finish.
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Even though the boys didn't get back to the championship like they wanted, Conklin couldn't have been more proud of his group of young men.
"These boys really played well this summer," Conklin said. "They're so competitive and love to win. We were always one of the last teams to leave for home every Sunday."
Along with their third place finish at state, Cloquet also finished second at the always-tough Gopher State Tournament of Champions, while they took home both the Eden Prairie and St. Louis Park Invitational championships en route to their 31-11-1 overall record this summer.
"They pitch and play defense with the best of them and it shows out on the field," Conklin said about his bunch that has turned at least 20 double plays this summer. "These boys do things that high school teams don't do well and when they're playing well, they're sure fun to watch."
But not only have the boys been excelling on the field, they are also turning heads off of it as well.
"These kids amaze me every day," said Conklin, who has heard comments about how nice, friendly and polite his boys are. "They simply just love the game and are simply just a good bunch of young men."
And with the boys getting back together next summer to play in the 13-year-old league, one can be sure that Conklin's young group will yet again play the maximum amount of games.
"It was such a fun summer for these boys," Conklin smiled. "There's no shame in third, because with this group, they'll definitely be back at it and will be a front runner again next year."
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Assisting Conklin throughout the summer were John Benson and Lance Takkunen, while team members include: Hunter Roberts, Zach Gerlach, Brandon Conklin, Nate O'Hara, Gavin Takkunen, Christian Pritchett, Nate Weets, Dillon Michaud, Derek Bloom, Mason Brenner and Wyatt Benson.
