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Sports

Tiger Girls Set to Defend State Softball Championship

Oakville won its first state championship last fall in Springfield.

softball players Remy Edwards and Julie Kernen had accomplished so much in their first three years of their varsity careers.

They were on a pair of teams which made it to the state championship game. But the one thing missing from their high school resume was that elusive state title.

Those tough losses in the championship games were forgotten as they celebrated with teammates at the Killian Sports Complex in Springfield last fall after a 1-0 win over Truman in the state championship game. Edwards closed out her career with a no-hitter.

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The state championship was the first for the Tigers, which had made it to the final four in four of the previous six seasons.

"The first championship is always special but especially so for players like Remy and Julie who had come so close," said Oakville coach Rich Sturm, who begins his 11th year as the Tiger manager.

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Edwards and Kernen were on the Tiger team which was attempting to become the first Class 4 team in state history to go undefeated in 2007. They lost to Lafayette 1-0 in the title game. They then lost to Jefferson City 2-1 in the championship game in 2009.

Oakville finished last year with a 26-1 mark. Its only blemish was a 3-0 loss to Parkway South, which was avenged with a 10-6 win the quarterfinals.

The top four hitters and Edwards, who finished 22-1 with a 0.66 ERA, are gone from the championship team. Edwards is at the University of Miami in Ohio while Kernen is at Tulsa University. Chloe Wolf, who led the team in homers with 11 and RBI with 36, is at Jefferson College and Danie Farnam is at Lindenwood.

The cupboard is not entirely bare though for the Tigers, who return several starters from that team. They also add some promising freshmen.

"I've got some very good softball players and I have been very, very pleased with what I have seen so far," Sturm said.

Pitching is going to be the big key as Edwards was overpowering with 250 strikeouts in 148.3 innings last year.

Senior Nicole Willie, junior Hannah Lance and freshmen Alex Frenz and Jordan Michalski are all competing for time on the mound.

"We certainly don't have the pitcher who is going to strike out 250 this year," Sturm said. "But we went to the final four in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007 with pitchers who did not average five strikeouts a game. They just need to move the ball around, change speeds and most importantly throw strikes. The defense looks very good."

Oakville returns its starting second baseman, senior Baeley Reed (who hit .338) and starting third baseman, sophomore Adrianna Wegmann (who hit .292). Lauren Fussell, who is the top returning hitter at .340, was used as a DP last year, but will likely play first base this year. Fussell had the squeeze bunt for what proved to be the only run in the championship game.

A very talented freshman, Katie Reed, is expected to start at shortstop.

Junior Lexie Klable (.328 last year) is back behind the plate. Klable had the dramatic grand slam in a 4-0 win over Webb City in the semifinals last year.

Junior Rachel McNamara returns to anchor the outfield in center. Michalski and senior Erin Allen will likely be the other outfield starters.

"Every team has its own identity and we will have to find ours," Sturm said. "We are not going to hit 20 homers as a team like we did last year or have the 250 strikeout pitcher. We will need to execute fundamentally and do some more bunting and running.

"We graduated a lot of good players but we still have some girls who have experience and played in some big games and also some very good young players. I think we can compete for a district championship."

The Tigers open the season at home in the Summit Tournament Aug. 22 against McCluer. They will host Lindbergh the next day with the championship game scheduled for Aug. 24.

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