Oakville Softball On Hot Run Going Into Mehlville Game

The style of play is certainly different for the 2011 Oakville softball team. But the results are still encouraging.

Oakville had a dominant pitcher (Remy Edwards) and a bunch of boppers (Edwards, Chloe Wolf, Julie Kernen, etc.) as it won the state championship last fall.

Those players all graduated and it is a different look with a lot of new faces this fall.

The Tigers defeated Lindbergh 3-2 Tuesday to improve to 9-3 for the season.

"It's tough to beat a team three times in a season, much less a good team which has won 10 games three times in four weeks," Oakville coach Rich Sturm said.

Freshman Alex Frenz went the distance on the mound for the Tigers and allowed just one earned run. It was just the second start of the season for Frenz, who did not have a single strikeout.

As has been the case for much of the season, Oakville was very opportunistic offensively.

"We are capable of putting a lot of pressure on a defense," Sturm said. "We are comparable to the Cardinals of the '80s. We don't have a ton of extra base hits but we do a good job of putting the ball in play. This is the best bunting team I have had in a while and the fastest team we have had in the last four or five years. We are much better at manufacturing runs. If you look at the statistics, you will see that we have scored a ton of unearned runs which is because of the pressure we put on the defenses."

A freshman, Jordan Michalski, has developed into the team's top pitcher. She is 3-2 with a 2.08 ERA that included a no-hitter against Rockwood Summit and a complete game shutout against a Northwest team that upset Lafayette Tuesday.

A couple of players who were role players on last year's state champion team have turned into standouts this year.

Rachel McNamara leads the team with a .594 batting average while Savannah Fedorchak is hitting .464 with a team-leading 17 RBI.

Senior Lauren Fussell, who is one of the few returning starters, is also hitting .464.

Oakville is not the dominant team it was last year in losing just one game. Its three losses have all been by big margins (6-1 to Hillsboro, 11-2 to Eureka and 12-3 to Lafayette).

But the Tigers have won some close ones like the game Tuesday against Lindbergh which is a very good sign for such a young squad.

Oakville has also performed well in the tournaments it has played. The Tigers finished second in the Rockwood Summit Tournament, losing to Hillsboro in the finals. They were third in the Suburban South/West Conference Tournament.

Oakville played just one game in the rain-shortened Incarnate Word Tournament and defeated the host team 19-5.

The Tigers had their game against Hillsboro rained out Wednesday and the wet grounds makes Thursday's game against Mehlville questionable.

Editor's note: We'll be keeping tabs on the game to see if it is still being played. Look for updates on Facebook or the activity stream on the right of the home page. 

A game to watch down the road will be next Tuesday as the Tigers host Parkway South. The Patriots are 13-0.