It was the kind of high drive that could have ended up flying
over the fence for a home run on a normal softball field. But there
was no outfield fence at the Salinas Sports Complex and so Oak
Grove catcher Kendra Powers
’ sixth-inning drive skipped all the way to the base of the tall
green wall in deep left centerfield as she lumbered around the
bases, headed inevitably it seemed for an inside-the-park homer
that would tie the game. But that’s when Live Oak High
centerfielder Danielle Austin kicked it into high
gear, catching up to the ball and heaving it on a line to
shortstop Alyssa Adamo, who turned and winged a strike on one
bounce to catcher April Herrera, who chased Powers down for the
out. It was the biggest play in a close 2-1 victory that vaulted
the No. 6 Acorn softball team past No. 3 Oak Grove
and into the CCS semifinals.
It was the kind of high drive that could have ended up flying over the fence for a home run on a normal softball field. But there was no outfield fence at the Salinas Sports Complex and so Oak Grove catcher Kendra Powers’ sixth-inning drive skipped all the way to the base of the tall green wall in deep left centerfield as she lumbered around the bases, headed inevitably it seemed for an inside-the-park homer that would tie the game.
But that’s when Live Oak High centerfielder Danielle Austin kicked it into high gear, catching up to the ball and heaving it on a line to shortstop Alyssa Adamo, who turned and winged a strike on one bounce to catcher April Herrera, who chased Powers down for the out.
It was the biggest play in a close 2-1 victory that vaulted the No. 6 Acorn softball team past No. 3 Oak Grove and into the CCS semifinals.
“The whole play was really huge,” LO coach Barry McDonnell said. “If that girl scores there, the whole momentum goes over to them. That just took the wind out of their sails.”
“If it hadn’t been (Powers) – she said she was sick – it would have been a home run,” LO pitcher Juliette Bowers said. “We had our fastest outfielder – Danielle – and I knew Alyssa has a great arm, and the throw was right on the money, so that was nice.”
That “nice” play helped earn LO a spot in Wednesday’s semifinal matchup against second-seeded Monta Vista of Cupertino at 7pm at San Jose PAL Stadium. Monte Vista beat Hollister-San Benito 2-1 in another quarterfinal on Saturday.
No. 5 Milpitas plays No. 8 North Salinas, which upset top seed Carlmont on Saturday, in the other semifinal.
LO (21-8) struck first in Saturday’s game, tallying a run in the first inning. Freshman Sarah Locarnini reached on a throwing error by Powers after striking out, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on Bowers’ single to left. Another wild pitch scored Locarnini for a 1-0 lead.
Bowers would come around and give LO a shot at another run but she was called out at home when she tried to score on a grounder to second.
LO would add another run in the fifth inning when Austin reached on a throwing error by OG pitcher Debbie Duran, moved to second on a wild pitch, to third on a sacrifice bunt by Bowers, and scored on another wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.
“We made quite a few errors,” Eagles coach Frank King said.
OG rallied in the sixth on a single by Duran, who smacked a line drive into right field and just beat the throw from LO’s Tanya Ferry, and Powers’ triple. But the Acorns’ big play kept the score at 2-1.
King said he sent Powers largely because of his team’s inability to do much against Bowers, who allowed just the two hits and struck out five with her rise ball working to perfection.
“I was trying to make something happen,” King said. “We weren’t doing much of anything. We usually do pretty good against hard throwers but not today.”
LO was the beneficiary of several fine defensive plays, including freshman third baseman Kelly McDonald’s snag of a hard shot with runners at second and third that saved at least one run, and Ferry’s throw from rightfield to nail Powers at first after a solid shot to right.
LO JV wrap-up
The Acorns’ JV squad beat Hollister-SB 11-3 in the season finale to finish 18-8-2 overall this season. Pitcher Tricia Goularte had 212 strikeouts and just 23 walks, while recording 10 shutouts, two no-hitters and one perfect game.
