After Park baseball accomplished a 9-0 lead in the second double-header game against Chaska May 9, the Chaska baseball team slowly came back, scoring 14 runs and taking a 14-12 lead by the last inning, according to freshman catcher Sam Hunt. Park scored three runs in the last inning, winning the second game 15-14. 

Hunt said, although he was nervous about a possible come-back from Chaska, he felt proud of the team’s relentless efforts in the double-header.

“We went up on them 9-0 and they fought their way back and turned it into a really really close ball game,” Hunt said. “That was some of the most fun baseball I’ve ever played. It was incredible the way we won and it was really really great.”

According to senior captain Riley Dvorak, the team got off to a rough start during the first game, but stayed determined, proceeding to win the first game 6-4 in eight innings.

“The first game we got down early. We didn’t play that well at the start,” Dvorak said. “Then Jonny (Sorenson) pitched great after the first inning. We hit and battled back and it ended up going into extra innings. And in the eighth we scored and played good (defense).”

According to head baseball coach Brian Kelly, he feels proud of the team’s multiple pitchers, and anticipates starting junior Luke Boyum as pitcher in the game tonight.

“We feel very fortunate that we have Luke Boyum ready to start today,” Kelly said. “Luke threw yesterday, threw 23 pitches, and his arm feels great so he’s in a good position to start today.”

Hunt said despite successful games against Wayzata last year he expects another close match-up.

“Same approach, treat it like a regular game against Wayzata,” Hunt said. “We beat them three times last year, but they’re a really good team so we’ll have a great fight tonight.”

According to Kelly, Park has an undefeated conference record and is currently at the top of the Metro West Conference.

“Right now we are up 4-0 in conference with three more conference games to go next week Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday so we’re in first place in the Metro West Conference,” Kelly said.

The Orioles take on Wayzata at 6:30 p.m. May 10 at Wayzata High School.