Park softball: Wolfpack topped by Roseville, Stillwater

After winning two straight games, the tables turned on the Park softball team.

Park fell 3-1 to Roseville and 12-9 to Stillwater in a pair of Suburban East Conference games last week.

The Wolfpack is now 5-8 overall and 4-7 in the SEC.

To start the week, Park was shut down by Roseville (3-8; 3-8 SEC) and the Raiders’ ninth-grade starting pitcher Emily Hyland.

“She threw very well today,” Park head coach Bob Loshek said. “The ball popped out of her hand. I have seen many pitchers over the years, both men and women. It usually takes an inning or two to figure them out as hitters.”

In the game, Roseville went ahead 2-0 in the first inning and held the Wolfpack scoreless until the seventh inning, when Park was finally able to get a run on the board. Unfortunately it was a little too late as the Wolfpack were downed 3-1.

After falling to Roseville, Park traveled to Stillwater, where it got caught up in a slugfest — the opposite of its game with the Raiders.

The Park hitters started the game like they ended the day before — getting people on base.

“Good things happen when you get on base,” Loshek said.

With one out in the first inning, Gwen Warling walked followed by a Mary Turitto single to left. Sam Flack then hit a hard shot off of Stillwater’s third baseman to plate Warling. On the next pitch, a wild pitch plated Turitto to put Park up 2-0 on the Ponies (7-4; 7-4 SEC) after one half inning of play.

Stillwater came right back in the bottom of the first inning to knot the score up at 2-2, however.

The next inning was scoreless for Park, but not for the Ponies as they plated three more runs to go up 5-2 after two.

“Stillwater came out swinging the bats,” Loshek said. “They swung hard and hit the ball hard. After a few innings, our bats started to heat up as well.”

Loshek wasn’t kidding. After the Ponies went up 9-2 the Wolfpack bats started knocking around Stillwater ace Rachel Rhode to tie the game 9-9.

“She throws very well,” Loshek said of Rhode. “She has a nice little riseball and spots her pitches well.” “Once we were able to make adjustments at the plate, and stared to feel confident up there against her, we started attacking the ball.”

In the end, however, Stillwater plated three more runs to top Park 12-9.

“Our girls had some great at-bats,” Loshek said. “They all hit the ball hard, but we just didn’t get enough of them to fall in between the defenders.”

In the game, Suter drew three walks, Warling and Turitto were each 2-for-4 in the game and Kayla Hemmingson had a hard double to left center.

Park played host to White Bear Lake on Monday after the Bulletin went to press. The Wolfpack travels to rival Woodbury on Wednesday for its next game.

Tags: sports, park, wolfpack, softball, prep, updates