By TIM ADAMS
Sports editor
When new head softball coach Jessica Weikle took over the Oak Harbor High School program at the beginning of the 2009 season, she vowed that she was going to teach the Wildcats how to win games.
Coming off a 3-2 win over Burlington-Edison in the opening game of the season on Monday, Oak Harbor matched its 2008 win record with a 10-4 thumping of Sehome in a non-league matchup Wednesday afternoon at Hillcrest Elementary School.
“We did a really good job on all levels today, on playing together as a team, on hitting and on defense,” Weilke said.
Oak Harbor staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning but came roaring back with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and were never headed.
The Wildcats added two more runs in the bottom of the second inning to build a 5-1 lead but in the top of the third inning, defensive miscues led to three Sehome runs to make the score 5-4.
Whitney Osborn pitched the first three innings for the Wildcats before being relieved by Kayla Ratliff who had another great outing on the mound.
The senior fanned seven Sehome batters in four innings of work and held the team scoreless to pick up her second pitching victory of the season.
“Whitney did pretty good for the first couple of innings, but then she started to struggle,” Weilke said. “That’s when we had our two errors. Kayla was able to come in and shut them down.”
Oak Harbor bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and three more in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away.
“The girls came back and were able to hit and support each other, and pick each other up,” Weilke said. “That’s one of the things we have been talking about. If we get down and make an error, there is somebody else who will pick us up.”
The Wildcat bats were booming, pounding out 13 hits off Sehome pitcher Celeste Barlow.
Ratliff was 2-for-3 in the game with 3 RBI and a stolen base, and Nicole Mowbray was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple, three runs scored and an RBI.
Kim Mowbray had a pair of hits and three stolen bases, Osborn was 2-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases and leadoff batter Kaylee Meders was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
