Park baseball: ‘Pack stops skid, ends season on a positive

• J.C. Burrell

Park senior J.C. Burrell and the Wolfpack baseball team stopped a two game losing streak and will head into the Section 3AAA playoffs on a high note after beating Hastings 8-2 on Monday, May 18 in the regular-season finale.

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Park stopped a two game losing streak and will head into the Section 3AAA playoffs on a high note after it dispensed of Suburban East Conference foe Hastings 8-2 on Monday, May 18 in the Wolfpack’s regular-season finale at Park High School’s Granville Smith Field.

In the game, Park senior pitcher Jaryd Marks held a no-hitter through five innings, but gave up a single in the sixth inning to end the bid. Ultimately, Marks (3-1) threw six innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs to earn the win over Hastings (4-15; 2-14 SEC).

At the plate, Park (13-7; 9-7 SEC) tallied 15 hits. Leading the way was junior Drew Benson, who was 3-for-4 with three RBI. Fellow classmate Robby Larsen, who leads the team with a .397 batting average, was also 3-for-4 in the game, while seniors Ryan Nordtvedt and Ben Bundschu and junior Tommy Swanson all went 2-for-4 in the game.

Heading into the week, Park was in a three-way tie first place in the SEC, but a pair of losses — 5-2 to Stillwater on Monday, May 11 and 8-1 to Forest Lake on Wednesday, May 13 — dashed the team’s hopes of a conference championship.

The Wolfpack finished the year tied for third in the conference with Woodbury and behind champion Forest Lake and second-place Stillwater.

The Wolfpack will learn its seed in the playoffs tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19. Park head coach Reid Tschumperlin hoped for a No. 3 seed, believing Lakeville North and Burnsville will be the top two seeds, respectively.

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