Oakville Begins Defense of State Softball Championship

The Oakville softball team lost just four games in the 2011 regular season, although all were by decisive margins.

The Tigers responded well after their first three defeats and manager Rich Sturm hopes that will be the case again after a 10-0 loss to Eureka in the regular season finale Thursday.

Oakville begins defense of its Class 4 state championship Thursday in the Class 4 District 2 Tournament hosted by Lindbergh. The Tigers earned the top seed after its 16-4 regular season record and earned a first round bye.

The first loss of the season for Oakville came against Hillsboro, 6-1. The Tigers followed in their next two games with decisive wins against Kirkwood (15-6) and Rockwood Summit (10-0).

Eureka then defeated the Tigers for the first time this season 11-2. But Oakville again came right back with wins against Lindbergh (17-7) and Northwest (11-0).

Oakville faced its third loss to Lafayette (12-3) but the Tigers followed that up with a 10-game winning streak which was snapped Thursday by Eureka.

"We have had our ups and downs this season but have found ways to win the close games," Sturm said. "Our losses have all been by large margins but each time we responded positively. I hope that history repeats itself."

Oakville has played seven games against other teams from District 2 and won them all. The Tigers defeated second-seeded Seckman 4-1 and third-seeded Lindbergh three times (7-3, 17-7 and 3-2). Oakville also has wins over fourth-seeded Northwest (11-0), sixth-seeded Fox (2-1) and seventh-seeded Mehlville (12-1). Cor Jesu, which is seeded fifth, is the only team in the district that Oakville has not played.

"We have a young team and we are looking forward to having a full week of practice before districts," Sturm said. "I don't know if we have had an outdoor practice for two weeks and we need the practice.

"The coaching staff has done everything we could to prepare the girls to be where they need to be. They have played hard and the record represents that. This is the time of year where every pitch, every out and every inning counts. We need to play our best. Everybody knows the end result of not winning."

Mehlville looks forward to the "second season" after a rough regular season. The Panthers finished 4-14 and won just one Suburban West conference contest.

One of the Panther wins did come against Cor Jesu (6-5). Mehlville opens the district Wednesday at Seckman. The Panthers lost twice decisively to the Jaguars during the season, 11-1 and 13-0.

The winner of that game will play the winner of Wednesday's first round game between Fox and Lindbergh in one semifinal Thursday.

The other opening round game will find Cor Jesu traveling to Northwest Wednesday. The winner of that game will play at Oakville in the semifinals Thursday.

The Class 4, District 2 championship game will be played Friday at Lindbergh. All games are scheduled for 4:15 p.m.