If the OHS varsity baseball team was going to write a book, it would be called “A Tale of Two Seasons.”

The Tigers started out 10-0 but have gone 4-9 since then, losing six of their last seven games. Defensive errors have led to unearned runs, making it hard for the offense to stand a chance when facing tough teams.

“As a team we need to find a way to get back on track, especially defensively,” head coach Rich Sturm said. “We need to get back to playing the kind of baseball that got us off to a 10-0 start.”

The team has made 57 errors in its 23 games. Fifty-six of the team’s 114 total runs are unearned. Injuries also affected the team this week.

“We have not been able to play around the mistakes,” Sturm said. “The pitching has gotta stay consistent. The defense has got to improve.”

The offense has struggled in recent games, outscored 28-11 in the past three games against Eureka, DeSmet, and Northwest, respectively. Outfielder Corey Chambliss (12), one of the team’s strongest hitters with a .475 batting average, missed the entire week with a wrist injury, and key starter Justin Pike (12) missed a start as a precaution after experiencing elbow soreness.

“We proved in the first 10 games what we’re capable of, and we need to get back to that,” Sturm said.

Sturm hopes the team will improve defensively before districts, which start on May 15.

OHS is now 14-9 and will play next on Tuesday, May 5 against Lindbergh at home at 4:15. All of the game’s proceeds are supporting Pallister-Killian Syndrome (PKS) and Down’s Syndrome in conjunction with Lindbergh.