Softball and baseball make strong starts to the season
The Delphi softball team started their season Friday, April 2, with an away game against Benton Central. The game went into extra innings with the Oracles eventually losing 6-5. The following day, they played against the 2018 1A state champion, and 2019 state runner-ups, Pioneer. The Oracles knew they had a tough matchup against the strong Panther lineup, but did not back down through seven innings.
The game went scoreless through the first inning, but due to a surge of Delphi offense, resulting in four hits and five runs, the Oracles led 5-1. The third through sixth innings were ruled by the defense, as the teams combined for only five hits and no runs. Heading into the top of the seventh inning, and only having one chance to score remaining, the Pioneer team was not going to go down without a fight. After getting a quick out, the Oracle defense was tested by a vigorous attempt by the Panthers as they found themselves facing the top of the lineup. The Panthers found their rhythm and hit two doubles, a triple, and a single to bring the game within one run. With a 5-4 score and the tying run on first, third baseman, junior Reaganne Watts made a great catch on an infield fly ball, and made a quickfire throw to first for a double play to win the game. For the first time since 2010, the Oracles defeated Pioneer 5-4.
Coming off of their momentum against Pioneer, the lady Oracles faced Frontier on Monday, April 5. The Oracles exploded with offense in the first inning ending with a 3-0 lead. During the first Delphi at bat in the second, senior Meghan Pearson hit a home run, and the Oracle offense kept up, leaving the second inning 7-0. After a scoreless third, the fourth inning saw the Frontier Falcons score their first run of the game, but the Oracles were ready with an answer. Reaganne Watts hit a deep ball over the left field fence for a two run homer. In the fifth, after holding the Falcons, the Oracles ended the game early with a two RBI double from freshman Lacey Pickering. The 11-1 blowout victory from the Lady Oracles brought their record up to 2-1.
The Oracle baseball varsity program started its season April 6 with a 2-1 loss against Rochester. The Oracles followed that up with a 13-3 win over West Lafayette. The Oracles opened the game with a 5-1 lead after two innings. The Oracles had two deep hits in the first inning from senior Gavin Gleason (double) and sophomore Chase Long (triple, 2 RBI). During the third inning Chase Long had another triple to right-center field, and sophomore Carson Workinger had an RBI single. During the top of the fifth inning, the Oracles made a great defensive play, picking off a runner attempting to steal second, directly followed by a quick throw back to home for another tag out. During the sixth, and ultimately final inning, senior Evan Fritz had a 2 RBI single, and Gavin Gleason had a 2 RBI sacrifice bunt. Carson Workinger sent the ball to the warning track with an RBI double, followed by the winning RBI hit by sophomore, Cole Long.
The varsity team followed up with a 3-2 win over Madison Grant that same night. The following day they played Madison Grant on the road and lost 16-10. The now 2-2 Oracles baseball program is off to a solid start. The team has shown great promise and hopes to expand its success later in the season.
Elliott Kelly is a senior at Delphi and is joining Parnassus for his third year. He actively participates in soccer, swimming, SADD, and the Delphi United...
Margaret Mose • Apr 16, 2021 at 4:54 pm
I really enjoy Elliott’s writing for Sports.
He gives us the exciting details and that makes it great to hear how the teams are doing!
Thank you, Elliott.