Lady Oracles earning respect
By John Dunn Contributing sportswriter
The Delphi Lady Oracle girls' softball team improved its record to 11-4 with a dominating 19-0 victory over Rossville Monday night in Delphi.

Winding up Delphi pitcher Amanda Schultz throws a strike during the Lady Oracles home conference victory over West Lafayette 8-6. Schultz improved her season record to 4-0 with the win as 1st baseman Brittany Tyner looks on in the background. Bill Stauffer photo

The Oracles also cracked the state's Class 2A top 15 rankings for the first time this season earning a spot as the #14-ranked team in their class after two wins over West Lafayette and a pair of losses to Twin Lakes last week.

After a tough weekend at conference rival Twin Lakes, Delphi bounced back in a resounding way, pounding out season-highs in both runs & hits (20) ¯ also both team-highs for a Randy German-coached Oracle team.

The Lady Oracles erupted for 11 runs and 11 hits in the 3rd inning ¯ also both season-highs in an inning ¯before setting the season run and hit record in only four at-bats as the home team in a 5-inning, 10-run rule game.

Eight Delphi batters had at least two hits, led by Brittney Atwood who went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI's, and Whitney Arion, who was 3-of-4 with two doubles and 4 RBIs.

Kayla Yates, Carli Rouhier, Brittany Tyner, Erika Hawn, and both Emily and Leslie Kayser each added two hits, with Yates, Tyner and E. Kayser adding 2 RBIs apiece.

Atwood (7-3) was equally efficient on the mound, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out six to earn her third shutout of the season and her team-high seventh victory.

Vs. West Lafayette

The Lady Oracles swept a pair from the Red Devils last week, setting up a showdown for the Hoosier Conference lead against Twin Lakes on Saturday.

Delphi defeated West Lafayette 10-4 on the road before returning home for the back half of the home-and-home series to complete the sweep, 8-6.

Amanda Schultz went 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs to lead the 13-hit Oracle offensive attack in the first match up, followed by Rouhier, who also went 3-of-4 with a double and two runs scored.

L. Kayser added two hits and 2 RBIs, with Chanler Norman contributing a 2-for-2 performance with an RBI.

Atwood again earned the victory on the mound, striking out five and allowing only one earned run.

In the second contest, the Lady Oracles had to manufacture their offense a bit more as they were held to a season-low-tying five hits, despite putting eight runs on the scoreboard.

Yates was the lone Oracle with two hits, adding an RBI, while Rouhier, Tyner and Hawn each added a hit.

Rouhier and Kristina Barnard led Delphi with 2 RBIs apiece, with Schultz and Atwood adding an RBI apiece.

On the hill, Schultz earned her fourth victory of the season, striking out five and allowing only two earned runs in 5 . innings before giving way to Atwood, who yielded only a hit to earn her third save of the season.

At Twin Lakes

The stage had been set, Delphi headed to Monticello on Saturday morning with the top spot in the Hoosier Conference standings on the line.

Both the Lady Oracles and the Lady Indians had split their earlier conference games with last year's champion Benton Central, so each team entered the contest with only one conference loss and in a tie for the league lead.

Things were going well for Delphi in the first game as it led for the entire game, jumping in front 2-0 during its first at-bat and extending the lead to as much as 6-1 in the 3rd inning and 11-5 after five complete innings.

But Twin Lakes would never quite go away, scoring just enough here-and-there to keep the game within striking distance.

And then, with two out in the bottom of the 7th and final inning ¯within an out of leaving Twin Lakes with at a minimum a three-way tie atop the conference standings ¯ the Indians took their first lead of the game on a game-winning 2-RBI single up the middle to snatch a heartbreaking victory away from the Oracles, 12-11.

The Lady Oracles' high-powered offense was on display with a 14-hit attack, but the just as potent Indians used seven runs and eight of their 17 hits overall in their final two at-bats to take hold of the conference lead.

Arion went 3-for-4 to lead the Oracles, while Rouhier was 3-of- 5 with two triples, a double and an RBI.

Barnard seems ready to return to last season's offensive form collecting two hits, including a double and 3 RBIs, while Schultz added two hits and an RBI.

Coming off of the hard-fought and disappointing defeat, Delphi was simply dominated in the second game, which started with a lead-off home run for the Indians. Twin Lakes pounded out 22 hits, while holding the Lady Oracles to just seven in the 17-2, 5- inning contest.

Barnard was the lone Oracle with more than one hit, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a triple, while Schultz produced the lone RBI with her single in the 1st inning.

Arion, Yates and Rouhier had the remaining Delphi hits.

So, the Lady Oracles now find themselves in 3rd place in the conference standings with three losses, just behind BC's two and TL's one, with the final conference games against Sheridan and Tipton coming up this week.

However, each of Delphi's four losses on the season has come at the hands of Class 3A teams that were ranked among the state's top 20 at the time the Oracles played them.

If the high-level of play continues, it should make for an exciting Class 2A tournament run.

The Lady Oracles hosted Sheridan Tuesday night (too late for print), then start a series of four-in-a-row on the road with games at Sheridan on Thursday at 5 p.m., a double-header at Tipton on Saturday starting at 10 a.m., and at Frankfort at 5 p.m. on Monday before returning home to host North White on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.