Hentkowski named MVP of North Star League

by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor

Posen head baseball coach Pat Kowalski called his lone senior pitcher, Brandon Hentkowski, an athlete with tremendous moral character. Hentkowski, the North Star League?s most valuable player and an all-district selection, received the nod from league coaches over all-state Hillman pitcher Chris Richards. Hentkowski led the Vikings in batting (.461) and hits (32), but also was the Vikings? number one pitcher.

Even when Posen struggled to find someone to throw strikes as a number two arm in the rotation, Hentkowski was always there to take the ball and begin a doubleheader. He led Posen with 10 wins and had 107 of the Vikings? 177 strikeouts.

?He was a heckuva good pitcher, and an all around nice young man,? said Kowalski. ?He had a tremendous career.? The coach added, ?He deserved the MVP.? Hentkowski made it as far as all-district voting as a pitcher, but his stats just could not carry him beyond that.

STATS WERE not the primary reason he received the MVP award in the league. As much as he wanted to keep opposing players in check at the plate, he always respected the other players. Kowalski commended Brandon?s parents at the all-sports banquet earlier in the month and asked them to come to the stage to receive the MVP award with their son. Other first team all-conference honors went to junior Nathan Strzelecki a

nd Nick Idalski. Strzelecki earned his award for his play at the hot corner. He did a ?nice job for us,? the coach said. Kowalski said Strzelecki shined in a doubleheader against Harbor Light Christian. ?He looked like a professional over there.? He also was the team?s RBI leader with 23. Nathan was tied for the team lead with six sacrifices.

Idalski garnered NSL honors during his junior season because of his leadership skills at the catcher position. ?He is a terrific kid and a nice ball player,? said Kowalski. ?He was a pleasure to coach.? He led the Vikes with 29 runs and was tops on the squad with 14 walks.

Aaron Romel and Justin LaPointe captured NSL honorable mention honors. ?They are both fun to watch,? the coach said. Romel, a sophomore shortstop, led the team with 20 stolen bases, while LaPointe was tops among Posen rookies with a .366 average. He had a team-best eight doubles. Justin also batted 82 times, and struck out only nine times.

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