Girls’ softball had a game against rival Minnetonka Skippers May 5 at Aquila Park. Park narrowly won with a final score of 11-10. Chris Gabler said he wants the team to bring the heat for sections.

“We’d love to get on a bit of a roll and make some noise at sections,” Gabler said. 

Sophomore Gabby Fadden said the team’s ability to show up in big moments is what won the game for Park. 

“The clutch hits we had in important times in the game is what helped us beat Minnetonka,” Fadden said.

Gabler said the team’s effort is the biggest factor that will determine the outcomes in games for the rest of the season.

“We need to bring that effort and energy every game and we definitely need to work on our ground balls as a team, especially the ones we’ve got to run for,” Gabler said. “If we get that down, we can have a great season and end on a high note for sure.”

Sophomore Rowan Jansen commented on the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 7th.

“The game-winning hit Dereona had was the best part of the game,” Jansen said. “When she got up with two outs we were all on the fence. We were so nervous in that 2-2 count. It was so nerve-racking, but we had hope that she could do it. When she hit the ball up the middle, it was such a relief and we just beat Minnetonka.”

Fadden said the team can benefit from what they learned in this last game for future games this season.  

“We need to take what we learned from playing a team like Minnetonka and build off of that,” Fadden said. “If we can do that and execute it the right way it’ll only go up from here.  I’m super excited for the rest of the season. We can make a great run and hopefully a state tournament appearance this season.”

Sophomore Eva Taybior said the team has a strong defensive ability, but can always improve.

“We have a pretty strong outfield and pitching core with a lot of depth in those positions,” Taybior said. “We could definitely work on our fielding more, we can always get better and our infield could definitely use some help too, but we’re still very strong.”

The next girls’ softball game is against Bloomington Jefferson at 6 pm on May 8 at Dred Scott Fields DS Field #6.