Jackson Tessman tossed a 5-hit shutout and Park won its third straight Suburban East Conference game Monday with a 3-0 win over visiting Cretin-Derham Hall Monday.

With the win, Park (now 6-3 in the SEC, 6-4 overall) topped Cretin (4-5, 4-5) and stayed within striking distance of the top of the conference.

The Wolfpack got all the runs they needed with a twoout, two-run start in the first inning. Sam Janski singled to lead off, followed by two outs. Will Smoot then drove in a run with a double and Smoot scored on an error by the Cretin shortstop.

Hitting cleanup, Smoot went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, giving him six runs batted in two games.

Park went up 3-0 in the bottom of the third on a two-out single by Josh Hatano and a run-scoring single by Smoot.

Tessman set the side down in order in the second inning and relief pitcher Evan Bearth did the same after coming in to relive Tessman in the seventh. Tessman allowed no runs on five hits, struck out five and walked two in six innings of work. Bearth struck out two batters in the seventh.

Park pitchers now have three shutouts in 10 games this season. Park’s back-toback 11-0 and 3-0 wins come on the heels of a 17-16 win over Roseville.

Park continues a big week with conference games at Mounds View (6-2. 6-2) Wednesday then takes on rival East Ridge (3-5. 4-5) at home on Friday, May 6, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Park 10, Irondale 0

Park got its first shutout of the season in a six-inning 10-0 victory over winless Irondale on a drizzly Friday afternoon.

The Wolfpack scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning, then went up 8-0 in the third. The Wolfpack then pushed across three runs in the sixth to end the contest.

Park’s Brady Strand pitched a 5-hit shutout, striking out eight while walking just one. Strand set the Irondale side down in order in the fifth and sixth innings.

“I really liked the way Brady threw the ball,” said Park head coach David Darr. “He was consistently around the zone and competing that way. And some guys hit the ball consistently hard today which was good. It was good to see that. We did some pretty good things today and made plays that we needed to and got a couple of guys some at bats that normally don’t get at bats.”

Will Smoot went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in the first inning and four RBIs to lead the Wolfpack hitting. Strand tripled, Sam Janski was 3-for-4 and an RBI. Jackson Tessman went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and scored two runs. Darin Arvin was 1-fotr-1 with two RBIs, getting the two-run hit that ended the game in the sixth inning.

“Will had a couple of hits and a three-run home run to really get us going in the first inning and that’s big,” Darr added. “He’s just missed a good amount of balls, just missed ‘em and his timing is a lot better now. He’s hitting the ball consistently hard and Tessman is doing that, too. And we’ve got Brady Drkula down in the seven hole and Brady Strand and they’re consistently hitting the ball Our lineup – every day we’re getting better at taking better at bats and understanding what we need to do at the plate. We’re getting better every day and that’s what we try to do.”

The Wolfpack improved to 5-3 in the Suburban East Conference and 5-4 overall. Irondale fell to 0-8 and 0-9.

It’s been a tough season so far for the Irondale Knights, who have lost seven straight conference games by nine runs or more.

Park 17, Roseville 16 First baseman Brady Strand and second baseman Jackson Tessman each homered and drove in four runs apiece as Park won a wild one, out-slugging visiting Roseville 17-16 Wednesday.

Strand ripped a bases-loaded home run in the bottom of the third inning to give Park a 14-5 lead.

Tessman had a single, home run, run-scoring walk, another single and a two-run double in his five at bats.

Micah Runion was 3-for-4, drove in three runs and scored three runs for the Wolfpack. Will Smoot, Brady Drkula and Noah Kanski also had RBIs for the Wolfpack.

Park jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings and increased it to 15-5 after three innings. But Roseville battled back with seven runs in the fourth inning and four more in the six to close to within a run.

Park pitcher Sam Janski – the fifth of five pitchers the Wolfpack used — closed the door on the Raiders as he retired the Roseville side in order in the top of the seventh to earn the save.

Park batters had 14 hits in the game, narrowly edging Roseville’s 12 hits and 16 runs.

Teammates mob Darin Arvin after he hit a two-run shot to end the game in the sixth inning against Irondale Friday.Photo by John Molene