Oakville Softball Slams Two Homers Against Mehlville

While Oakville softball is on a roll, Mehlville continues to be a frustrated team.

Oakville used 13 hits and two home runs to coast to a 12-1 victory at Mehlville on Thursday night in their Suburban West Conference rivalry showdown.

The Tigers improve to 10-3 this season while the short-handed Panthers drop to 2-9. Oakville has won six of its past seven games.

Oakville’s Lauren Fussell and Lexie Klable each blasted home runs, in the second and fifth innings, respectively. 

Check out more photos from the game on our Facebook page. 

Fussell's home run kicked off the Tigers’ scoring, and Erin Allen soon followed by driving in Megan Allen for a 2-0 Tigers lead. 

"The first three innings, we were not very patient," Oakville coach Rich Sturm said. "I told them to wait and put good swings on the ball. We hit two home runs in opposite fields. That showed they listened."

This display of power is out of character for Oakville, as it started the season scoring primarily off of bunts and ground balls, Sturm said. 

Mehlville scored in the third inning, but Oakville took over in the fourth. The Tigers scored 10 runs the rest of the game and the game ended after the fifth inning.

"Even though the score might not reflect it, we did well," said Mehlville coach Kristin Wheatley. "We had some big adjustments and did well with those."

Mehlville had five injured girls after its game against Parkway South last week. Three of those girls are still out, causing Wheatley to move around the defense. 

"We had to throw people in different positions two days ago," she said.

Aside from aggressive hitting, the Panthers struggled batting against Oakville pitcher Jordan Michalski. She has a 2.08 ERA and was well-rested going into the game.

"Jordan was much sharper today," Sturm said. "It's been eight days since she pitched last. She had more movement and her change-up was better this game."

Oakville hopes to continue its winning streak at Parkway West on Friday. Mehlville will take on Kirkwood at home Monday at 4:15 p.m.