Park boys baseball competed well with Chaska at home, but a late-game collapse led to a 5-10 loss during Park’s senior night. Park’s defense made many errors, yet an electric offense kept them competing for most of the game. Despite the loss, with the bleachers full, the seniors had a memorable and cherishable night.
Junior Wesley Marggraf said he prepares for big games like Chaska physically with proper rest, a good diet and hydration. According to him, mental readiness is crucial on game days as well.
“I made sure I got perfect sleep, I made sure my diet was on point (and I also) drank a lot of water and made sure I was mentally ready for the game,” Marggraf said. “Just got to keep putting in the work, keep doing what I am doing. It will work out eventually.”
Junior Griffin Hanson said he was proud of everyone. He said despite the loss, he was satisfied of the three pitchers, Moran, Barth and Blisset. According to him, he was also glad with how the batters played, including his own two hits and the combined eight for the team, and he was glad everyone was positive in the dugout, making sure everyone was a part of the team.
“I had a big game tonight,” Hanson said. “I recorded two hits, and I was happy with that. For our team, I was proud of our pitchers. Nicky Moran started off strong, had a good few innings, Dominic Barth came in and (played well) for a bit and Bliss came and closed us out. I was happy with the team’s performance at bat as well. (We) had eight hits (together as a) team. Thought that was good, everyone is staying positive in the dugout and cheering each other on,”
According to assistant coach Greg Meyer, Park is having trouble with defense and it’s crucial that the team plays offense and defense efficiently. He said their offense was good, yet defensive errors led to too many extra bases and unnecessary outs.
“We’ve got to tighten up defensively. I thought we pitched well enough to win. We hit well enough to win. Just gave up too many outs, too many extra bases and we got to tighten up defensively,” Meyer said.
According to Marggraf, despite the loss, the team was very positive tonight, including a couple of nice plays, noting one from Jack Mobley, when he made a nice throw to catch someone stealing second base. He said for the next game, the team still has to have that positive attitude, stay focused and play clean and proper baseball, minimizing mistakes.
“When Jack Mobley threw a guy out at second base, he got in the catcher’s first inning and just threw him out,” Marggraf said. “It’s hard when you’re playing a team this good. They put a lot of balls in play, but we gotta keep our heads down, stay focused and make sure we execute those plays.”
According to Hanson, in the later innings of the game, when the team was trailing, and it was late at night with the bright lights on, the team needed to have the motivation to stay in the game. He said it is a big part of the game to play a full seven innings, and it’s tough when you quit late into the game.
“Toughest part of the game, those last few innings are always hard at the end of the night, people getting tired, especially when you’re behind (in runs),” Hanson said. “Having to find motivation to fight back and stay in the game is huge. It is always the hardest part, but if you can make it past, anything is possible in the baseball field, In terms of improvement, making sure we all stay locked in. Our bench presence was great tonight, but that can always improve. We can always be more positive.”
Meyer said he set a team goal to go out onto the field and try to compete with a top-five team. He said the team did not reach those goals; small mistakes and errors added up to runs for the other team. Meyer said Park was not the only one who couldn’t compete, making their defense appear worse.
“Before the game, we have to get out and compete. I thought we did that. When we’re playing a top-five team in the state, we have to execute better defensively. That goal we did not reach today, but it was a tough defensive game for both teams,” Meyer said.
