Eighth-seeded Acorns break up no-hitter in sixth while beating
No. 9 Los Altos 3-1
MORGAN HILL
Live Oak’s Grace Hargadon has never seen a team win with no hits. Few people have.
But with four outs left in Wednesday’s Central Coast Section Division II first-round playoff against Los Altos, a hitless victory looked like a plausible best-case scenario for the plucky, eighth-seeded Acorns.
They clung to a 2-1 lead, the result of throwing error that plated both their runs, but had been completely shut down by junior pitcher Ali Goldberg and the ninth-seeded Eagles.
“She had great speed and a rise ball that was coming in and throwing us off,” Hargadon said of Goldberg, who struck out six and allowed two walks. “We had to just go up there and take a deep breath.”
With one swing, Hargadon had everyone breathing easier on the home side at Live Oak High School. The freshman shortstop delivered the knockout punch — a mighty single – with two down in the six inning then scored on Kayla Cisneroz’s double in the next at-bat, keying a two-hit, 3-1 triumph.
“That’s where we’ve been all year,” said LOHS manager Barry McDonnell, whose team faces top seed Archbishop Mitty at 4 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals. “They don’t know they’re being no-hit. They just go up there determined every time.
“Like the game against Westmont and the others last week; they were really close. We just want to get up there and hit it.”
The Acorns (15-13) lost each of those Mount Hamilton Division games McDonnell mentioned last week, losing 8-2 at Pioneer on Monday, 8-5 to then fifth-ranked Westmont, the No. 2 seed in Division II, on Wednesday and 9-2 at Leland on Friday. Live Oak’s season would have ended there if not for Mount Pleasant’s ineligible-player infraction that awarded LOHS the league’s fourth and final playoff berth.
It’s been a while since the Acorns won a game, much longer since their last playoff victory (May 19, 2007). But they haven’t forgotten how to close one out under McDonnell, who rejoined the program for a ninth season this year.
“We were smart on the bases. That was the difference,” senior second baseman Priscilla Orona said. “We didn’t get too many hits, but we were smart to enough to score with the people we did get on base.”
After drawing walks, Rachel Ditta and Khailyn Neumayer pushed the Acorns ahead 2-0 with two outs in the third on Pati Monterrey’s sharp grounder that ricocheted off the glove of Los Altos first baseman Amanda Jones. Lindsay Axelrod recovered the ball a few feet away, but the second baseman’s underhand throw was too high for Jones. Monterrey reached on the overthrow, while Ditta and Neumayer scored easily.
“They were going on contact,” McDonnell said. “That was just good, heads-up baserunning.”
The Eagles (14-12), runners-up in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s El Camino Division, still seemed in control, though, behind Goldberg. The righty struck out the first four batters she faced and, until Hargadon’s single, allowed one ball to reach the outfield — Katie Obbema’s lineout to right in the fourth inning.
“When we first went up there, we thought we were going to be able to hit her better because we thought she’d be slower,” Orona said.
“That was a little bit of a coaching error,” McDonnell said.
Goldberg overshadowed an impressive outing by Obbema, who retired the side in order three times and struck out six in a seven-hitter for her first postseason victory. Goldberg spoiled the shutout herself, singling home Kelsey Ayers in the sixth inning.
“Today was really nice because Katie was hitting her spots really good,” McDonnell said. “Once she started putting it right where we asked her, she really started throwing a good game. That’s what we needed from her.”
Obbema wasn’t frustrated by the first five hits she gave up — all infield singles.
“It actually made me feel better because they weren’t hitting me solidly,” the junior said. “It’s upsetting because my hit count goes up, but that’s about it.”
Of all the Live Oak team members who celebrated afterward, McDonnell may have been the happiest. He guided the Acorns to CCS titles in 2001 and 2005 and to their only Mount Hamilton Division championship in 2007. Saturday his team will share PAL Stadium with the third-ranked team in the county, an Archbishop Mitty (23-2) squad the Acorns say doesn’t make mistakes.
Asked if he had time to answer for a few questions after the game, a straight-faced McDonnell broke character briefly
“You can pick me up and throw me over a fence,” he said. “It wouldn’t matter after this.”
