Those big Park bats, which propelled the Wolfpack to a remarkable 2026 season, mostly fell silent at state.

And after an emotionally satisfying tournament opening win over Suburban East Conference rival Stillwater, Park went down quietly offensively in games two and three in the 2026 Class AAAA softball tournament at Caswell Park.

The Wolfpack rolled rival Stillwater 8-2 in the state quarterfinals Tuesday, lost a tough 3-1 decision to No. 3 Forest Lake on Wednesday and then had nothing left in the tank in a 10-0 loss to top-ranked Farmington in the third-place game Thursday afternoon.

“You know we’ve faced a ton of adversity,” said Park head coach Tony Young. “Whether its kids being injured, sick, this that and whatever. We don’t lean on excuses and we had kids that stepped up and gave their best and we just came up short.”

Still, it was a remarkable season, a season to be proud of. Park rolled up 22 wins -- the most wins in recent softball history, finished second in the always tough SEC with a 12-4 record, then won a section championship and finished fourth at state.

Park’s lack of offense was the difference in the last two games, and a surprising one from a team which counted wins of 12-2, 10-0, 10-2, 15-1, 12-0, 18-3, 13-2, 16-0, 10-0 in the regular season and victories of 5-0, 10-4 and 9-5 in the section playoffs.

“I think yesterday’s pitching was really good, and today not to take anything away from Farmington’s pitcher it’s we were a little sluggish at the plate and guessing instead of having a solid plan at the plate and it bit us in the butt,” said Young.

But Park managed just four hits against Forest Lake in the semifinals and only three against Farmington in the third-place game. And while the pitching -- especially Forest Lake’s -- was much tougher at state, both Park players and coaches were left wondering where the hitting went as the tournament concluded.

The other key thing to note about this season is that it was the Wolfpack’s first return to North Mankato since the 2018 season. Park had played at state 16 times between 1984 and 2018, so this was a welcome home journey for the Wolfpack.

And it’s very likely the Wolfpack will be back again soon. Park loses three key senior starters – catcher Alayna Adamez, pitcher Ava Youngquist and catcher/infielder Allyson Grobner – but can return everyone else on a deep roster.

Back for Park could be centerfielder Addy Corkish, shortstop Addison Jasper, pitcher Chloe Micek, second baseman Maddie Boothe, third baseman Kennedy Brink, right fielder Izzy Tennis, left fielder Jenna Squillace, first baseman Stella Fritsche. And that’s not counting star third baseman Mackenzie Darsow who missed the final two games in the tournament after injuring herself against Stillwater. Darsow was only one player missing from the lineup of course Wednesday and Thursday, but her absence was notable.

“That was huge blow for us,” said Young. “She’s a huge part of our offense. Again, were better than one player it’s just takes a lot of wind out of your sail.”

Park’s seniors reflected on the season with a mixture of price and sadness.

n “I think the season overall, we did a lot better than we expected at the beginning,” said Grobner. “And I think we came up short today, but we all played together very well and we did our best. Teamwork is so important and believing in your teammates will help you go really far.”

n “It was getting to the end of my arm, but I think we didn’t get this one, but we played together as a team all week and that’s more important,” said Youngquist. “I’ll remember everything about this team, this year. All those girls are like my best friends. I’ll remember that.”

n

n “I definitely think as we came down here we knew the pitching was going to be 100 percent better than what we saw all year, but Tony put us up against the toughest schedule we could have saw,” said Adamez, who set the Minnesota girls softball single season record for home runs with 17 this season and was named to the Star Tribune All-Minnesota team. “I think that made us great out here. We didn’t hit every ball, but we made crucial hits when we needed to. Yea today came up short but I think the teamwork and the energy and everybody was there participating no matter how well we hit together as a team we were still there together.”

n

n “This bunch, they grew up,” said Coach Young. “They took their lumps early in their Park high school career. It was never easy for them and they stuck to the process and believed in the coaches and here we are in Mankato and taking fourth place, taking some hardware home and it’s never easy to lose but I believe we accomplished quite a bit.”

Third-seeded Bloomington Jefferson (27-1) edged Forest Lake (27-3) 1-0 in eight innings to take the 4A state championship Friday morning. Farmington (25-2) finished third with its win over Park (22-6). Edina (23-3) topped Stillwater (19-7) by a 9-2 score to claim the consolation crown.

Farmington 10, Park 0

Park simple couldn’t muster any offense in the six-inning loss to Farmington Thursday, managing only three hits in 20 at bats, two from Squillace and one from Adamez. Park batters struck out four times and drew no walks.

Farmington scored three runs in the third on three consecutive RBIs to take a 3-0 lead. They drove in two more in the fourth and added insult to injury with four more in the sixth to end it.

Starting her third game in three days, Youngquist just didn’t have much left in the tank and gave up 10 hits, seven earned runs, a home run and three doubles in five and a third innings.

Forest Lake 3, Park 1

This was a much tougher loss for the Wolfpack than the third-place game because a play or two there, or one more hit here, would have made a difference and could have easily propelled them into the championship game.

“We gave them a run. We were a hit away from winning the game,” said Young. “Like the first time and like the second time. Just didn’t deliver with two outs.”

Indeed, it was rinse and repeat for both teams actually as all three Park-Forest Lake games this season were decided by a play or two. Forest Lake swept the regular season series with the Wolfpack, winning 8-4 in Cottage Grove and 2-0 at Forest Lake.

Park got on the scoreboard in the first inning on a sacrifice bunt by Youngquist to score Corkish who was walked and stole second to open the game. Jasper singled up the middle to move Corkish to third and it looked like the Wolfpack offense was going to be in synch.

Unfortunately, that early run turned out to be Park’s only tally of the game.

Park put a runner at third in the fourth with one out but the next two batters struck out swinging.

Forest Lake tied the game in the bottom of the first on a home run, then went up 3-1 in the fifth on just one hit. But the Wolfpack made two uncharacteristic errors in the inning which allowed the Rangers to cross the plate twice.

The Wolfpack looked like they might get right back in it in the top of the sixth as Adamez and Grobner both walked to put runners on first and second with none out. But the next two batters lined and grounded out and then Adamez was controversially called out at second for leaving the bag early.

In the seventh, Squillace hit a one-out single, but the next two Wolfpack batters failed to connect and that ended it.

Park had just four hits in the game, two by Squillace and one each from Corkish and Boothe.

Youngquist allowed just five hits and only one earned run. She struck out three and walked none.

“Two little plays but you know we had opportunities with runners on and we just didn’t get hits,” said Young. “We didn’t get the big hits like we did against Stillwater. Hats off to their pitcher, she’s very, very good and we knew we were in for a battle.

“We just have to bounce back,” Young added. “When we set out this year there were no expectations from the outside and out motto for our program is tradition ignited and pack united and I think we accomplished that. We’re back here at the state tournament following Whit and Coach Losek’s path. I don’t think we’ve had this type of group in a long time and there’s a lot to be proud of.”

Park 8, Stillwater 2

Youngquist threw a four-hitter, went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and drove in two runs to lead Park to a satisfying 8-2 victory in the state tournament opener Tuesday.

Park led from start to finish, 2-0 after one inning, 4-0 after two and 6-2 after three innings. The Wolfpack slated the game away with two more runs in the sixth.

Youngquist pitched all seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits, striking out four and walking two.

Park got hits up and down the lineup, totaling 11 for the game and 7 RBIs. The Wolfpack had 10 strikeouts, six walks and had 10 players left on base.

Youngquist, Adamez, Kennedy Brink and Jenna Squillace all hit doubles for Park.

Squillace went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and stole two bases. Addison Jasper was also 2-for-4 and drove in a run. Brink went 2-for-4 and scored twice. Madi Boothe was 1-for-3 and scored two runs. Addy Corkish was 1-for-4 with an RBI and Adamez was 1-for-1.

The bad news for Park against Stillwater happened early as star third baseman Mackenzie Darsow severely injured her foot and ankle on a first inning slide and spent the next two games watching from the dugout on crutches. Her absence was felt against Forest Lake and Farmington.