Despite a rain-soaked week, the Oakville Senior High School boys’ baseball team upped its record to 2-0 with a 12-7 win over Affton Saturday afternoon.

Tigers head coach Rich Sturm believes that his team was able to get its two home games in last week due to a little elbow grease that the coaches and players put into the field during the preseason.

“We were happy to get two games in after the rain we got on Tuesday (March 18),” Sturm said. “The field is in great shape and I believe that all the hard work on the field has really paid off.”

In the win over Affton, Oakville starting pitcher Bubba Bradshaw gave up seven runs on seven hits in 32⁄3 innings.

The junior hurler struck out five batters and walked three in his first win of the 2008 campaign.

“Bubba’s going to get better the more he pitches,” Sturm said. “He threw a lot of pitches and got himself into some tough situations. But he also got himself out of those situations.”

The Tigers found themselves in several tough situations throughout the game as Affton jumped out to a 3-2 lead after the first inning. But Oakville’s junior first baseman Dan Chambliss opened up the game in the bottom of the second inning with a three-run home run to give Oakville a 6-3 lead.

“We were put behind the eight ball and that home run made it 6-3 for us,” Sturm said. “That home run shows how Dan’s become a much more sound hitter this year.”

Oakville found itself clinging to a one-run lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning, but a two-run home run by junior outfielder Drew Levi gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead.

“That was a huge momentum swing for us,” Sturm said. “We were up 8-3 going into the fourth inning and that gave us the chance to be able to regain control of things.”

But the player who probably had the best day at the plate was junior outfielder Brandon Alexander, whose two-hit performance included three runs scored on a double, a triple, a walk and a sacrifice.

“What Brandon’s done this season has really impressed me,” Sturm said. “He’s really set the tone for the team offensively.”