Live Oak had six players named to the all-Blossom Valley
Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division team, including co-Most
Valuable Player Matthew Cummins.
Staff Reports
Live Oak had six players named to the all-Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division team, including co-Most Valuable Player Matthew Cummins.
Cummins, a junior infielder/pitcher, hit .486 with 35 hits, 28 runs scored and 12 stolen bases while also going 5-0 on the mound with three saves and a 0.97 ERA.
“Matthew had a phenomenal season,” said Live Oak coach Mark Cummins, Matthew’s father who was named the league’s Coach of the Year. “Along with his high batting average and strong pitching, he played a great shortstop for us.”
Cummins’ average set a school record, eclipsing the .489 average of Benji Sanchez from 1995.
Senior third baseman Eddie Gomez and senior pitcher Blaine Sutton were named to the first team.
“Eddie is a gamer,” Cummins said of Gomez, who hit .467. “He was our catcher the previous two years and switched to third base this year and played an outstanding third base and saved us numerous runs.”
Sutton finished the year with a 5-3 record and a 2.91 ERA.
“Blaine was more than reliable,” Cummins said. “Every time he took the mound he gave us a chance to compete and he won some big games for us.”
Senior center fielder Cameron Willis, junior catcher Adam Perez, and sophomore Anthony Austin were named to the second team.
Willis hit .333 with 6 stolen bases while playing a solid defensive center field.
“Cameron gets a tremendous jump on the ball and ran down several potential extra base hits in the gaps that saved us a lot of runs,” Cummins said.
“Adam had several key hits for us down the stretch and shut down the opponents running game behind the plate,” Cummins added about Perez, who hit .328 with 20 RBIs.
Austin hit .355 with 20 walks and 16 runs batted in.
“Anthony gave us quality at-bats every time he was up,” Cummins said. “He was on base a lot for us.”.
In their first season in the BVAL, the Acorns shared the league title with Leigh and advanced to the Central Coast Section playoffs for the 16th straight season.
“It took our whole team to win the championship, more than what was recognized by the all-league awards,” Cummins said. “We were only as strong as our weakest link. Several players stepped up throughout the season when we needed them. Joe (Forestieri), Mikey (Devine), Tim (O’Rourke), Stephen (Smith), Connor (Sutton) and Alika (Bantilan) all had major roles in our success,” Cummins said.
Cummins deflected much of the credit for his Coach of the Year honor to his assistants.
“The award is a credit to our program,” he said. “C.J. Goularte, Bryce Wilson and pitching coach Erik Wagle did a tremendous job of preparing our players everyday in practice for the games. It is a great feeling having those former players helping me continue our great tradition.”
Sobrato saw three of its players receive all league honors in the Santa Teresa Division.
Junior pitcher Kevin Sullivan and senior outfielder Ryan Evanger were named to the first team.
Sullivan had a 7-3 record with one save and a 2.94 ERA while pitching a team-high 50 innings this season. He also hit .365 and drove in 13 runs.
Evanger led all starters with a .407 batting average, 13 doubles and 26 RBIs. He also had a 4-2 record on the mound with one save and a 3.03 ERA.
Senior first baseman Bryan Yates was selected to the second team. He hit an even .400 this season with six doubles and 14 RBIs.
