The benefit to graduating one player from the previous year is the chemistry that just carries over for a team.
For the Live Oak softball team, having solid senior leadership from last year and a bench that doesn’t drop off when on the field has meant a strong aura of success.
The only losses thus far for the Acorns have been a tough round to Silver Creek and a loss to Notre Dame-Salinas in the title match of the Circle of Champions.
Beyond that has been a consistency that left coach Sarah Porras feeling like her Acorns are the team to beat this season in league play.
“We’re essentially the same team (from last year). We only lost one and we’ve come back a little stronger,” Porras said. “They definitely have chemistry from last year. Building on that, they know they are the team to beat.”
And with Pioneer’s Holly Acevedo on the sidelines with an injury, Live Oak may just be the team to beat.
The Acorns are coming off a 14-1 throttling of Lynbrook on Monday where the starters set everything up but the bench players took it home.
And it was hard to really notice a difference between the starters and the bench.
And it’s been that way all season.
In the circle, Vanessa Ramos and Maddie Gallagher have kept things in check, with Gallagher going 3-1 with a 2.96 ERA.
Meanwhile, Gallagher is batting .565 with 13 hits in 23 at bats and four home runs and nine RBIs. Just one other Acorns has a homer and it’s sophomore Kelli St. Claire.
“I think we have a lot of talent in the program between both teams,” Porras said. “I think that our pitching is very, very strong. We have three senior pitchers, so I think they are all experienced. And we have great bats. They both feed off each other.”
Porras said as one aspect of the team gets going—be it pitching or hitting—the other falls right in line and gains more confidence based on those performances. Then defensively, it is hardly and issue.
