The varsity softball team continued their dominant season by winning the Jefferson City tournament for the first time on Sept. 13.

Alex Frenz (12) pitched the entire tournament, letting up only eight runs in four games. She pitched two shutouts and had 16 strikeouts. Frenz is first in the area with a 0.58 ERA in 72.3 innings.

“I feel fantastic about our performance this whole weekend,” Frenz said. “All of our games were [definitely] team wins and I’m so proud that we won it after coming in second last year!”

OHS clinched the tournament win by beating Lee’s Summit North by a score of 9-5. Third baseman Emily Davidson (10) went 3-4 with three runs batted in, and Frenz pitched a complete game to get the win.

“The energy from my teammates–especially the seniors–motivates me to help us move towards a win,” Davidson said.

The Tigers did not allow a run until their third game of the tournament against Lee’s Summit, the defending Class 4 state champions. OHS beat Lee’s Summit 4-3, but Lee’s Summit was ahead 3-0 until the fifth inning. OHS tied it in the fifth and scored in the seventh to win when Casey Kenny (10) scored from third base on a grounder hit by Madie Behnen (12).

“The tournament was stacked with some very good teams from around the state,” head coach Rich Sturm said. “We played extremely well and had to battle hard to win the semifinal against Lee’s Summit and the championship against Lee’s Summit North.”

The second game of the tournament was unusual; even though the game started about an hour late, the Tigers beat Hickman 11-0, ending the game in the 5th inning because of the mercy rule. After a few innings, the lights suddenly went out, causing a 20-minute delay.

“We were already…behind, so that pushed the game back even later. We didn’t get done until about 11:30,” Frenz said. The game was originally supposed to start at 8:30. However, the delays did not affect the team’s play and caused them to grow closer as a team.

The OHS offense was also a major factor in their second tournament win of the year. Both Frenz and Jordan Michalski (12) hit home runs, and Katie Reed (12) had eight hits. The Tigers outscored their opponents 30-8. Their offense was especially apparent in the first tournament game against Kirksville; OHS won 6-0.

“Our offense has been doing a great job,” Frenz said. “It really helps me relax because I know when we get up to bat, we’re going to get runs across.”

OHS has now won both tournaments they’ve played in and have a record of 12-1. They play next on Sept. 15 at Lindbergh at 4:15 p.m.