Lady Oracles off to sizzling start
By John Dunn Contributing sportswriter

Expectations are high this season for the Delphi Lady Oracle softball team.

After all, they lost only one player to graduation and return eight starters from last year's 17- 13 team, including six seniors, both of its top pitchers and welcome the addition of three talented freshmen.

Maybe not so surprisingly, the Lady Oracles are off to a red-hot start, winning three of their first four outings for the first time under the tutelage of third-year head coach Randy German.

The Lady Oracles have been sizzling at the plate, especially considering the earliness of the season, hitting a combined .473 as a team with an equally impressive .618 on-base percentage.

German's best team to-date in those two categories was last year's version that hit .297 for the season with a .430 on-base percentage.

Equally impressive has been Delphi's defense, which has now gone three straight games without committing an error.

After opening the season last Wednesday night with an 11-5 defeat at the hands of Cass, the 2006 state champions #3-ranked in the preseason Class 2A poll, the Lady Oracles responded quickly with a 12-0 road victory Thursday night at Clinton Central via the 5-inning, 10-run rule. They annihilated conference-foe Rensselaer on Saturday with final scores of 15-0 and 14-1, both in five innings.

Against Rensselaer

Delphi simply dominated all facets of the game during the double-header sweep, led by junior pitcher Brittney Atwood (2-1), who carried a perfect game into the final inning of the first game before allowing a one-out walk to the only base runner of the game, settling for a no-hit shutout, striking out six.

Not to be outdone, the Lady Oracle hitters set a season-high for runs scored and tied the season high of 16 hits, set during their previous outing at Clinton Central.

Delphi scored five runs in its first at-bat opening the way for all 12 Lady Oracles on the roster to collect a hit, led by senior Kayla Yates, who was 2-for-2 with a triple, a run batted in (RBI) and two runs scored.

Freshman Whitney Arion and senior Erika Hawn also each went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, while Atwood was 2- for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Junior Leslie Kayser and sophomore Danielle Burge added to the barrage with 2 RBI's apiece in the 15-0 romp.

Game two provided similar results as Delphi scored eight first inning runs en route to the dominant 14-1 final.

Senior pitcher Amanda Schultz (1-0) was in command on the mound, striking out 12, with only one walk and four scattered hits, while also leading the way offensively, going 3- for-4 with 3 RBIs and three runs scored.

The Lady Oracles needed only nine hits, thanks in part to being the recipient of seven walks and a hit batsman.

At Clinton Central

Arion led off the game with a home run blast over the left field fence to jump start the Oracle offense again, before finishing 3-of-4 with a double, 3 RBIs and three runs scored to lead another 16-hit performance.

Yates also went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while last year's leading hitter, senior Kristina Barnard went 3-of-4 with two runs scored.

Atwood pitched her first shutout of the season, allowing only two hits and striking out four.

Against Cass

The Lady Oracles were not as sharp in their season-opener, but still had a better showing than last year's 10-1 loss against the traditionally-tough Kings, coming up short 11-5.

Delphi was still able to pound out 11 hits, equaling that of Cass, led by freshman Carli Rouhier's perfect 4-for-4 performance that included a double and a run scored.

Arion also went 2-for-4, including a lead-off double, an RBI and a run scored, along with Yates who finished 2-of-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

The Lady Oracles will travel to Remington to face Tri- County on Tuesday night (too late for print deadline), before hosting conference opponent West Lafayette on Thursday at 5 p.m. and traveling to Benton Central for a Saturday morning double-header at 10.