Oakville boys’ baseball team is riding roller coaster of highs and lows this year

By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

As if this season were like a roller coaster ride, Oakville Senior High School baseball team has hit a few highs and lows this year.

The Tigers (5-5, 2-2 Suburban South) handed University City a 10-0 pounding on Monday afternoon of last week as they hit a high note this season with their second shutout this season.

Despite the win, Oakville Head Coach Rick Seim still saw the need for improvement with his team.

“We actually didn’t hit the ball very hard,” Seim said. “It was a conference win that allowed us to go over the .500 mark this season.”

Sophomore starting pitcher Andy Marks received the win for the Tigers as he retired 10 batters on strikeouts in just four innings pitched.

Marks walked three batters and gained some praise from Seim who was reluctant to throw the young thrower into the fire this season.

“Andy’s been our most consistent pitcher and he’s stepped it up,” Seim said. “We’re really hoping that the other kids will end up doing the same.”

Oakville quickly was brought back to reality on Wednesday of last week as the Tigers suffered an 8-6 loss to Parkway South.

The Tigers held a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the second inning, that was until the Patriots starting pitcher, Ben Huey began to take control of the game.

“The Huey kid kind of shut us down,” Seim said. “After the second inning, he settled in and really took control.”

Junior second baseman Ray Henderson was 3-3 at the plate in which he scored a run while junior starting pitcher Eric Brewer continued to struggle on the mound for the Tigers.

“Eric was in and out of trouble all day long against Parkway South,” Seim said. “Ray’s played the last couple of games at second base and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity.”

Oakville returns to action Wednesday afternoon as they play Webster Groves at GMC Stadium in Sauget, Ill. GMC Stadium is home of the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League.

The Tigers also will be active this Friday and Saturday as they play in the Kirkwood Tournament that will be played at the Ballwin Athletic Association fields.

“We’ve got a lot of ballgames and a lot of innings,” the Oakville coach said. “This gives some kids on the team the opportunity to throw in some of these games this week.”

The Webster Groves game is scheduled for a 4:15 p.m. start,while the Tigers will play Parkway West at 8:30 p.m. in Ballwin on Friday.

Oakville is slated to play Pattonville at 5 p.m. Saturday and DeSmet at 8 p.m. in Ballwin.