By John Molene

For six innings, a good-hitting Park team’s bats were mostly silent.

For five innings, Park clung nervously to a 1-0 lead.

But at the end of seven innings, thanks to masterful performances on the mound by senior Brady Strand and by the Park defense in the field, the Wolfpack found a way to return to state.

Park won a 1-0 nail-biting thriller over section rival and seventh-ranked Rosemount in the Section 3AAAA finals Wednesday at Alimagnet Field in Burnsville to advance to the state baseball tournament for the second straight season.

Park, now 18-7, plays Tuesday in the 2022 State AAAA Baseball Tournament at CHS Field in St. Paul. The tournament runs Tuesday through Friday, with the first two rounds at CHS Field and the finals at Target Field Friday.

Making the field of eight were top-seeded Farmington (21-3), second-seeded Stillwater (20-4), third-seeded Andover (20-4), fourth-seeded Maple Grove (19-4), fifth-seeded St. Louis Park (18-7), Sartell (12-10), Chanhassen (15-9) and Park (18-7). Tuesday’s quarterfinal games are at 10 a.m., then 1 p.m., 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday’s championship games are set for noon and 2:30 p.m. Consolation play is at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis at 9 and 11:30 a.m. with the consolation finals at 2 p.m.

After losing the first game in the section championship bracket Wednesday in a 6-2 Rosemount win that didn’t seem that close, more than a few of the Park faithful were understandably nervous about the second game. And the early departure of starting pitcher Sam Janski after one batter did nothing to allay any frayed Park nerves.

Instead, with Janski unable to go further, Park turned to Strand, and he put on nothing less than a pitching clinic, including pitching his way out of two serious jams before being relieved with one out in the seventh. Strand threw no-hit ball for six innings, striking out six while walking five.

“I don’t even know how to explain it,” Strand said when asked how he was feeling after the win. “It’s amazing. It was a stressful first game, but we got it done.”

But it didn’t all come easy.

• In the fourth inning with

See BASEBALL Page 8

Members of the Park High baseball team step forward to accept their Section 3AAAA baseball championship trophy. Photo by John Molene BASEBALL

FROM PAGE 1

one out, Strand issued three straight walks to load the bases. He got the next batter to line out and the final batter to strikeout swinging.

• In the top of the sixth, the leadoff Rosemount batter went all the way to second in a throwing error. The next batter was hit by a pitch to put two men on with no outs. Strand then got the next batter to hit into a fielders’ choice which was turned into a force out at third by some sharp Park defense. The fourth Rosemount batter flied out and Park got out of the inning untouched when they nailed one of the Irish on a steal attempt at home plate.

• “(It was) just relaying on our defense,” Strand said of how he was able to work out of those two jams. “I knew the team was there to make plays and the whole year just throw strikes and get the job done. That’s all it was, just throw strikes.”

• When Strand finally ran out of juice with one on and one out in the seventh inning, the Wolfpack turned to star shortstop but little-used pitcher Josh Hatano, who took the mound and let Park’s defense complete the task by getting the final two outs. Hatano entered having appeared in just five innings this season, but with a perfect 0.00 ERA to his credit.

The first batter Hatano faced hit into a fielder’s choice, with the Wolfpack getting the force out at second base. Then base runner Jake Schimmel of the Irish was caught trying to steal and the only things left was for an ecstatic Park team was to jump on each other in a wild celebration, then storm the fences behind home plate and celebrate with their ecstatic fans. Oh, and collect their section championship trophy. Again.

“It’s unbelievable. To do it two years in a row is just crazy,” said Hatano. “This one is that much sweeter just cause we’re seniors. I think we were more underdogs last year, but I mean to be a senior and be a leader on this team and lead them this far – we all came together at the right time, and we jelled and obviously we lost the first one and came back in the second one so its that much sweeter.”

“It was a very intense game, getting down to the wire, only one run,” said Park senior Noah Janski.

Regrouping and refocusing after the first game were a key to the second, Janski said.

“We realized that we didn’t come to that first game with as much energy as we probably wanted, but we got a little bit of food in our stomachs, got ready for game two and just came out blazing. Yea, we were ready for that one.”

Park won the second game despite getting just two hits, both coming in the bottom of the second inning. Senior catcher Will Smoot led off with a double. Designated hitter Micah Runion flied out, but senior leftfielder Noah Janski hit a grounder and courtesy runner Justin Kasa scored what turned out to be the only run of the game.

“I’m feeling amazing,” said Smoot. “The first game we didn’t do too hot but that’s why you get two of them for winning (in the first rounds of the section). It’s like a little mulligan, breakfast ball, stuff like that. It’s just great to win that game.

“It’s great to do this with my teammates that I’ve grown up with,” Smoot added. “We had a lot of kids that left us to go to bigger schools and all that stuff and we stuck together and it’s paying off.”

Smoot was 1-for-3 and Brady Drkula 1-for-2 and that was the extent of Park’s successful hitting.

Fortunately for the Wolfpack, Park’s pitching and defense were precisely on point.

“I’m really happy, and really excited, for the boys,” said head coach Dave Darr. “The best part is watching them celebrate after that last out. I’ve been fortunate enough to win a couple and go to the state tournament and by far that’s sheer joy and emotion that they show. You don’t get many chances in life when you grow up to show those and that’s just a lot of fun.

“And Brady Strand, holy cow,” added Darr. “Your one out and oh, I’m pitching now, and he came in and six innings of no hit. And threw the game of his life at the best time possible. That’s a senior, that’s awesome. I don’t know if I really know the words to describe it. Just really proud of him. Every outing this year he’s gotten better and better and better.”

Rosemount, which finished 19-8 on the season, qualified for the finals with a 4-2 win over Lakeville North in the Section 3AAAA Elimination Bracket Final.

It’s now pretty well established that Park has Rosemount’s number in the section playoffs.

Park has eliminated Rosemount four times recently from the Section 3AAAA playoffs, and all have been close games. The Wolfpack won last season in a tight 9-8 victory, won again in 2019 in a 4-2 game and in 2016 it was another 9-8 victory. Then of course Wednesday’s 1-0 win makes four.

Rosemount 6, Park 2

In Wednesday’s first game, Rosemount scored one run in the first inning then added four more in the second and Park never really recovered.

Park had nine hits in the game, but seldom were able to string them together.

Micah Runion went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, Park’s only RBI in the game. Josh Hatano was also 2-for-4 and scored a run.

Rosemount, on the other hand, had 11 hits off Park pitchers Jackson Tessman and Evan Bearth, most notably in the fourth punctuated by a two-run home run by pitcher Easton Richter.

The Irish strung together a walk, an error, two singles and Richter’s two-run homer to go from a 1-0 edge to a 5-0 advantage and effectively take control of the game.

The loss snapped Park’s seven-game winning streak.

Park pitcher Brady Strand lets out a yell as he comes off the mound after escaping a jam in the sixth inning in the second game against Rosemount. Photo by John Molene

Park senior catcher Will Smoot guards home plate for an approaching Rosemount runner Kailer Wenzel in the top of the sixth inning. Wenzel was out to end the inning and preserve a 1-0 Park lead. Photo by John Molene

Park infielder Boston Weidner points to a Rosemount runner out at second for the final out of the second game. Photo by John Molene

Park’s players celebrate after a dramatic 1-0 win over Rosemount that sent the team to state for the second straight season. Photo by John Molene