By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

After stringing together a six-game winning streak that included winning the District 3 Tournament, the Oakville Senior High baseball team had its season end with a 5-3 loss to Marquette in the sectional.

The Tigers (14-11, 5-2 Suburban South) started the 2003 season on a shaky note as they went 2-4 in their first six games. But it was a 12-1 pounding of Hillsboro on May 14 that was the beginning of their impressive run to the state sectional.

“We were kind of up and down and didn’t seem to get any kind of consistency at the beginning of the season,” Head Coach Rick Seim told the Call. “I really have to commend our guys on their terrific run at the end of the year.”

Oakville found itself down 5-1 after four innings. But in the bottom of the seventh Char Sergent drove in two runs on a double, pulling the Tigers within two.

“Chad gave us a chance to tie the game with the tying run at the plate,” Seim said. “He was one of those guys that battled till the last out.”

Tigers starting pitcher Andy Marks was solid on the mound as he gave up five runs on nine hits. In the losing effort against the Mustangs, Marks retired five batters via strikeout and finished the season with 58 strikeouts. Despite the loss, Seim spoke very highly of the sophomore’s effort on the mound.

“Andy deserved the start and prove to be our number one pitcher this season,” Seim said. “He’s only a sophomore and had some butterflies, but in the end, he threw a solid game. I think he had a terrific year.”

With the graduation of Sergent, Aeric Bauman, Jeremy Boyer, Mark Sophie, Mike Toro and Chad Vancil, the Tigers will have some holes to fill on next year’s starting roster. But the Oakville junior varsity squad apparently is loaded with talent as it posted a 14-1 record this season, including a 14-game winning streak.

“We’ve basically got the entire pitching staff coming back for next season,” Seim said. “We’ll also have the nucleus of a J.V. team that won 14 games in a row and went 14-1.”