In a day with a new ballpark and new fans, one thing remained the same for the OHS JV baseball team: they still pulled off a victory over the Mehlville Panthers. OHS has beaten Mehlville all three times they’ve faced each other this season.

OHS faced Mehlville on Saturday (April 12) at GCS ballpark in Sauget, Illinois. The Tigers beat the Panthers 10-0 with a complete game shutout from pitcher Blake Dillow (10).

“[My] curveball was working well, and I was excited to face our rivals at GCS,” Dillow said. “The defense really helped me out. It’s exciting–I love finishing the game by myself.”

Josh Kuntze (10) started off the offense in the second inning. He singled, moved to third on a double by Tyler Morris (10), and stole home to give OHS a lead. The Tigers’ offense kept scoring, while the defense and Dillow preserved the shutout.

“Our defense and hitting came together at the same time,” catcher Trent Miller (10) said. “It felt good to beat them for the third time this year.”

Utility infielder Tyler Chambliss (10) went three for five, leading the team with a .538 batting average. Shortstop Raul Elguezabal (10) smashed a bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning, making the score 8-0. Overall the Tigers had 15 hits, tying their season best.

In his first two games, Dillow pitched in snow and rain. At GCS on Saturday, he pitched in strong winds that at times aided the OHS defense.

“The wind helped me because the balls didn’t travel well,” Dillow said. He is 3-0 with three complete games so far this season.

OHS also played Mehlville the day before, Friday, April 11. After eight hits in the first six innings, the OHS JV baseball team had still not scored. It took the last inning for the Tigers’ bats to drive in some runs against their rivals.

Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, OHS was losing 7-2 to the Mehlville Panthers. Six hits later, they had scored six runs and beat Mehlville in a walk-off win, 8-7.

“It was a great comeback,” designated hitter Jake Stegmann (10) said. Stegmann started off the seventh inning with a single, coming around to score on Bailey Vuylsteke’s (10) triple. “It was hard-fought.”

Bailey Vuylsteke and pinch-hitter Ryan Merritt (10) tripled in consecutive at-bats, driving in three runs. After a pitching change, Oakville sent five more batters to the plate.

“It was about clutch hitting and coming together as a team,” Merritt said.

Stegmann, who started the rally, ended it with a walk-off single that drove in Blake Tribout (10), the winning run.
“I would like to see our guys play with a lead rather than coming back, but it was a good team victory,” head coach Trent Sauer said. “I’m proud of our guys.”

Kyle Spellicy (10) pitched the first half of the game, and Trent Miller (10) came in relief in the fourth inning. Miller held the Panthers to one run in three and a third innings, allowing OHS to come back.

In the past two games, Oakville has faced Mehlville and won both times. The money from the rival games at GCS went to Hometown Heroes.