ireballing Acorn varsity closer Doug Porras toed the rubber as
his brother, Jon Michael Porras, dug in at the plate, slowly waving
the bat back and forth across the dish. The younger Porras wound
and threw, winging the ball high and inside over his older
sibling
’s head to the backstop, setting off a chorus of hoots and
hollers from both dugouts, and drawing a big grin from the
unrepentant pitcher. Such was the intensity that pervaded the
annual Live Oak High Alumni Baseball Game at Live Oak on Saturday.
After a three-game losing streak, the Acorn varsity
finally broke through for a 7-4 victory this year.
Fireballing Acorn varsity closer Doug Porras toed the rubber as his brother, Jon Michael Porras, dug in at the plate, slowly waving the bat back and forth across the dish. The younger Porras wound and threw, winging the ball high and inside over his older sibling’s head to the backstop, setting off a chorus of hoots and hollers from both dugouts, and drawing a big grin from the unrepentant pitcher.
Such was the intensity that pervaded the annual Live Oak High Alumni Baseball Game at Live Oak on Saturday.
After a three-game losing streak, the Acorn varsity finally broke through for a 7-4 victory this year.
“The monkey’s off our back, finally,” LO coach Mark Cummins said, jokingly.
LO took a 3-0 lead in the early innings before the Alumni rallied to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. 1972 grad Manny Souza started the rally with his annual single, ‘95 grad Kevin Henley had a two-run single and ‘94 grad Bill Thaw scored the tying run. But the varsity reclaimed the lead in the sixth and the Alumni went out with a whimper in the latter innings.
“I was really happy with the turnout and the spirit,” Alumni coach Jim Crossen said.
Cummins said next year’s Alumni turnout, 27 players strong this year, will be split up for an early game against the Acorn JV and the late game against the varsity.
Friday’s golf tourney and dinner fundraiser for the Acorn baseball program was also a big success, drawing 64 golfers for the event, Cummins said.
