Oaks pitcher Chris Johnson lets loose with a pitch during Post 383's 8-1 victory over Southside May 31 at Bella Vista High School.

Fair Oaks 8, Southside 1 (League: 1-0, Overall: 5-0-1) - May 31 @ Bella Vista High - Fair Oaks opened its District 6 season with an impressive 8-1 victory over Southside May 31 at Bella Vista High School.
    The Oaks went up 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning as first baseman Andrew LeDuc led off with a double into the left field corner. Third baseman Abel Alcantar followed with a ground ball to second. A bad throw to first, however, allowed Alcantar to reach safely and LeDuc to score to make it 1-0.
    In the third, the Oaks added two more runs as center fielder Steve Rinaudo led off with a smash to short that was booted. With second baseman Kyle Richardson at the plate, a bad pickoff attempt allowed Rinaudo to got to second and then a wild pitch sent him to third.
    Richardson also reached base after he was hit by a pitch and then with designated hitter Tyler Robertson at the plate, Richardson led off first and drew a pickoff throw. Richardson got caught in a rundown which resulted in another error as the ball was thrown away. Rinaudo scored and Richardson took second. Robertson then flew deep to center field and Richardson tagged and scored from second on the play. Had the ball not gotten away from Southside's catcher, the play might have been close, but Richardson crossed the plate to make it a 3-0 game.
    With one out, Alcantar got a hit to center that moved Robertson to third. Catcher Jesse Olson then hit a ball to short with the throw going to second to get Alcantar. But the relay to first was bad and Olson was safe with Robertson scoring to make it 4-0.
    Three more runs came home in the sixth inning as errors continued to plague Southside. Greg Polanski led off with a ball to third, but another bad throw allowed him to reach safely and advance to second. The throw back to second to try and get him went nito left field and Polanski advanced to third. The next batter, Ryan Appledorn, sent a ball to third where Polanski found himself in a rundown.  Appledorn motored into second and Polanski managed to get back to third safely to give the Oaks runners at the corners. Rinaudo was then intentionally walked to load the bases and with two outs and Robertson at the plate, a wild pitch allowed Polanski to score to make it 5-0. Robertson walked to reload the bases and then a hit to left by LeDuc scored Appledorn and Rinaudo to make it a 7-0 game.
    Trevor Lewis replaced Chris Johnson on the mound for the Oaks in the top of the seventh, with Bret Gibson taking over the catching duties. Lewis got Southside out in order in the seventh and Mark Lincoln replaced Lewis in the eighth, allowing two base runners, but keeping the Oaks shutout alive.
    The Oaks faced a new pitcher in the bottom of the eighth and scored their final run of the game. Appledorn led off with a walk, but was erased as Rinaudo hit a ball to second with the throw going to short to get Appledorn. Rinaudo beat the relay to first, however and then advanced to second on a ground ball by Richardson. With Robertson at the plate, Rinaudo stole third and then scored on a wild pitch to make it an 8-0 game.
    A pair of one out walks off Lincoln and a bad hop single past third resulted in Southside's only run of the game in the top of the ninth. Lincoln got the next two batters out, however, leaving the score at 8-1 in favor of Fair Oaks.   

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SOUTHSIDE	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	7
FAIR OAKS	0	1	3	0	0	3	0	1	-	8	4	0

Southside: Pitching - Tyler, McKeehan (8) and Fitzgerald .
Fair Oaks: Pitching - Johnson, Lewis (7), Lincoln (8) and Olson, Gibson (7). Top Hitters - LeDuc 2x4,  2B, 2 RBI.