Dave Newton and Kyle Yamashita hit home runs in the fifth inning
of Friday
’s Tri-County Athletic League game to give Live Oak a 6-2
win.
Dave Newton and Kyle Yamashita hit home runs in the fifth inning of Friday’s Tri-County Athletic League game to give Live Oak a 6-2 win.
With the score tied at 2-all, Newton led off the fifth inning with a solo blast to left field, then, after an error, Yamashita blasted a ball to right field for a two-run homer.
“I’ve been working on my swing to check what I’m doing,” Yamashita, who had five RBIs in the game, said. “As I hit the pitch, I felt it.”
The win gives the Acorns (4-3, 2-0 TCAL) the upper hand for the series tie-breaker if the standings are tied at the end of the season. Live Oak also beat Hollister in the league opener on Wednesday.
Despite the big win, Live Oak coach Mark Cummins said there’s a long way yet to go this season.
“The race is certainly not over yet,” Cummins said. “It’s a marathon not a sprint. Hollister’s got a really good team.”
Hollister starting pitcher Jason Sims, making his first start after basketball, pitched five innings and had nine strikeouts for the Balers.
“I left a changeup up on the first one then left a fast ball up on the second,” Sims said. “I tried to use my velocity to get ahead, then work the offspeed. But I didn’t hit my spots early.”
Sims, also batting for the first time this year, went 3 for 3, with an RBI double.
Eric Abbott got the win for the Acorns. He pitched six innings, giving up just two hits. He was consistent, but his only 1-2-3 inning was the sixth.
“I was trying to be controlled, working the inside and then the outside for strikes,” Abbott said. “That’s always something I’ve focused on in the past.”
“He was throwing his breaking ball for strikes,” said Cummins. “That was the key to keeping them off balance.”
Hollister (4-5, 0-2 TCAL) never had the lead after falling behind 2-0 in the first inning. But the Balers tied the score with runs in the second and the third innings only to have Live Oak answer right back with the home runs and then a solo run in the sixth inning.
“The kids are working hard,” said Hollister coach Derek Barnes. “It is hard when you squander the opportunities. We got the momentum, then we gave it right back. We could have easily come out on the other side.”
It looked like Sims was going to have an easy inning after getting the first batter of the game to pop up on the first pitch.
But Bryce Wilson walked, Newton was hit by a pitch and Daniel Salinas reached on an infield hit to load the bases with one out.
The Balers got the second out on a heads-up play by third baseman Mike Lango, who fielded a short ground ball and then threw home to Anthony Synegal for the out.
Just when the Balers appeared to walk away unharmed, Yamashita hit a double to the fence to score two runs.
“They’re a good team, but we’re a good team also,” Lango said. “If we could erase some of the mental mistakes, we could beat them. We just have to win the rest of our games.”
Despite allowing the first runners to reach base during the next three innings, Hollister didn’t allow a run.
In the third inning, Sims led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball, and Geno Fata walked.
Synegal hit a routine ball in the infield, but the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing Sims to score.
Sims knocked in Lango, who had walked in the fourth inning, for the final Baler run.
In the second inning, Synegal threw out a runner trying to steal second.
And in the fourth inning, Sims picked off a runner at first with a quick throw to Justin Patton, who put on the tag.
“It was very frustrating early in the game because we couldn’t get any runners to score,” Cummins said. “But it is a credit to us to keep on swinging. The ball normally flies out of here pretty good like we have seen before.”
Live Oak plays at North Salinas on Wednesday, then hosts the Vikings on Friday. Both games are scheduled for a 3:30 start.
Hollister will go against Gilroy this week.
JV NOTE: Hollister defeated Live Oak 8-1 in the JV game.
