Consecutive losses in a crucial home-and-home series against
league leader Palma has the Live Oak High baseball team searching
for answers.
Consecutive losses in a crucial home-and-home series against league leader Palma has the Live Oak High baseball team searching for answers.
After dropping a 4-2 decision at Palma on Tuesday, the Acorns lost their first home league game to the Chieftains 6-5 on Thursday.
The losses meant Live Oak has lost the season series with Palma and dropped the Acorns into third place in the Tri-County Athletic League behind the Chieftains (7-1) and Gilroy (6-2), which beat North Salinas 13-9 on Thursday.
“Now we definintely have to get some help (to win the league),” Live Oak coach Mark Cummins said. “We no longer control our own destiny and you always like to be able to do that. We have to straighten ourselves out and hope to get some help from another team.”
On Thursday, Live Oak (8-6 overall) was victimized by sloppy defense at times and couldn’t get the big hit despite regularly putting runners in scoring position.
The Acorns trailed 4-1 in the third inning before Daniel Salinas’ two-run single pulled them within 4-3, then fell behind 5-3 before loading the bases with one out in the fifth but could only score a single run.
Senior Steve Conner smashed a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to pull Live Oak within a run but it wasn’t enough.
On Tuesday, Dave Newton and Doug Porras both had solo homers for the Acorns in a losing cause.
