Oakville High School baseball improved to 9-9 for the season with a 4-3 win over Mehlville High School April 22.

The loss dropped Mehlville to 10-8 on the season.

After the Panthers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, the Tigers plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead. Mehlville tied it 2-2 in the top of the fourth, only to see Oakville take a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning. The Panthers once again refused to go away, tying the game in the top of the fifth. The Tigers got a run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead, and their pitching did the job the rest of the way to preserve the win.

Sean Forbes came up big in a clutch situation, getting the save for Oakville. Forbes, a Jefferson College commit for baseball, was lights out for Oakville in the final inning, striking out three batters after coming in with the bases loaded.

“He’s been put in a lot of tough situations to win games for us,” Oakville coach Rich Sturm said. “He’s been really good in that role.”

Forbes has four saves on the season for the Tigers.

Connor Gang had a pair of RBIs for Oakville, while Owen Mundy and Noah Scheller-Houska each added a RBI in the victory.

At 9-9 with 10 games left until district play begins, Sturm is looking for offensive improvement from the Tigers.

“We need to simplify the approach,” Sturm said. “We need to stop being so pull-conscious. We need to hit the ball on the ground and see what happens. Of course, this is probably something a lot of high school coaches agree on.”

One big positive for Oakville has been the team’s pitching and defense, something that Sturm is happy about.

“I would say that going back three of four games, our pitching has been pretty good,” he said. “It’s been consistent. Our bullpen has been good and our starters are throwing well.”

With games coming up against the likes of Seckman, Parkway North, CBC and a few other teams, the Tigers will be working on being at their best when playoff time comes around.

“We have swung the bat really well at times and I think our pitching and defense has been really good,” Sturm said. “We need to put it all together to be ready come district play in a few weeks. I can say that our best baseball is yet to come.”

Oakville will host Hazelwood West Wednesday and Parkway North Friday.