Leigh holds off rally to beat Lady Acorns 6-2
MORGAN HILL — The wind was brutal, and Carissa Theis’ 63-mph fastball did not help.
Both took their toll against Live Oak on Wednesday as the defending Mount Hamilton Division softball champion Leigh Longhorns breezed to a 6-2 victory at Live Oak High School.
With the wind wreaking havoc, turning routine fly-outs into extra-base hits, Leigh was able to craft a back-breaking two-out rally in the first inning. It started when Theis drew a walk, and Becca Hogan reached on an infield single off Acorns starter Kelly Hillman (1-2). Elyse Eitel cleared the bases with a fading drive to right field, good for a double, and Elysha Theis scored Eitel on a pop-fly that died in shallow right.
“The wind was kind of a challenge,” Live Oak third baseman Brooke Willis said. “I think if our hitting came through earlier and the wind wasn’t so bad, the game could have been different.”
Leigh (11-3 overall, 2-1 league) put one run across in the second inning and two more in the third. The 6-0 lead was ample support for Carissa Theis, who tossed a complete-game four-hitter for her 10th win of the season. The New Mexico State-bound senior struck out seven and yielded one earned run. She also went 3 for 3 at the plate with an RBI double and a walk.
“She pitched really well today,” Longhorns coach Clovis Mirrasou said. “She has great instinct. She knows how to manage a game and her teammates out there. We never felt safe today, though. We knew the wind was going to be a factor, and Live Oak is always dangerous on their home field.”
The Acorns (1-5, 1-2) got on the board in the fifth inning with bases-loaded singles by Willis and Priscilla Orona on back-to-back at-bats. Willis drove in Kayla Cisneroz, and Orona brought home Jacey Turay, who was pinch-running for Katie Obbema. Live Oak almost made it a three-run game when Kirsten Doting laid down a squeeze bunt, but Carissa Theis’ flip home was just in time to get Stephanie Doting. Theis then got Kourtney Kientzy to ground out, ending the threat.
“We were able to come back because our girls stopped pushing so much,” Sutton said. “Sometimes they try too hard instead of just playing the game and keeping it simple.”
Willis reached base in three of her four plate appearances, and Obbema, a freshman, pitched a scoreless final four innings.
“I just tried throw strikes,” Obbema said. “I just tried to have fun and make something happen.”
With clutch help behind her, Obbema sent the Longhorns down in order in the sixth and seventh. Orona turned a double play, and Stephanie Doting made a sliding catch in center and snagged a line drive.
“We looked great at the end,” said Willis, a senior. “We wish we could have had those first innings back.”
The Acorns were coming off a 5-4 victory in nine innings Tuesday against Pioneer. Live Oak won it when Orona crossed home on a passed ball.
The Acorns built a 4-1 lead before the Mustangs started to rally in the fifth. Pioneer scored three runs in the seventh inning to tie it.
“(Tuesday) was a lot of fun,” Sutton said. “They came back against us, but we never give up.”
