Park was up 1-0 at the bottom of the sixth inning, but Benilde had bases loaded. Benilde scored two runs and Park struck out at the top of the seventh.

Senior captain Megan Perkins said she was disappointed with the team’s loss.

“Yesterday we also lost, so we talked about how today was going to be redemption and getting back to the values of our team,” Perkins said. “This game was kind of a blow because we should be able to beat Benilde. It’s frustrating.”

Park lost its game May 1 against Benilde-St. Margaret’s with a score of 1-2. The previous day, the Orioles fell to Wayzata 2-9.

Going into the first game of the season against Benilde, sophomore Margaret Klein said she was optimistic the team was going to play well.

“It was the first time I’ve ever started in the field, so I was really nervous about that, but I felt pretty confident in our team and in our defense,” Klein said.

Coach Bobby Crumpton said he didn’t feel too confident coming into the game against Benilde.

“We haven’t been able to hit at all,” Crumpton said. “I have a great pitcher. I’ve got an all-conference pitcher who is having a great season, but she isn’t getting much run support.”

Klein said she doesn’t think the loss will make or break the team’s season.

“We just had one bad inning and we lost, so that’s obviously really disappointing,” Klein said. “But I feel like we had (a) lot of successes during the game, and it’s just one loss, so we can pick it up and do better for the next game.”

Crumpton said he hopes to see improved batting and more runs in future games.

“It takes a lot of practice,” Crumpton said. “To get it right, you got to practice, and we don’t have a lot of practice time, and now we’re in the games.”

Perkins said it’s important to remain positive despite losses, and there are beneficial aspects to losing because the players can learn from their mistakes.

“We have to keep our heads up and really work on scoring those runs because we have a lot of issues with that,” Perkins said.

The varsity softball team will play Bloomington Jefferson in its next game at 4:30 May 4 at Aquila Park.