Just days after hanging up the 2003 inaugural Tri-County
Athletic League banner on the center field fence at Richert Field,
the Acorns baseball season ended.
Just days after hanging up the 2003 inaugural Tri-County Athletic League banner on the center field fence at Richert Field, the Acorns baseball season ended.
Live Oak was defeated 7-4 Wednesday in the first round of the Central Coast Section playoffs by Santa Teresa, which gave up just four hits and scored three runs in the first inning. The Saints (14-12) will advance to the quarterfinals against Wilcox, which defeated Homestead 3-1.
“If we can’t beat Santa Teresa, then we can’t beat any of the other big boys like Wilcox or Saint Francis,” said Live Oak coach Mark Cummins.
Kyle Bennett got the nod on the mound against Santa Teresa, pitching in the biggest game of the year for Live Oak. He started off the game by throwing a strike right down the center to leadoff batter Travis Lazar, but lost him to a walk after running the count full. And Bennett hit the second batter.
Jason Hershfield knocked a run in with a base hit up the middle. Two more came in to score on a double by pitcher Andrew Terry on a ball that sliced away from center fielder Bryan Jones.
“I was a little nervous before the game,” Bennett said. “I had a couple little mistakes. I left a few pitches up, and they hit me.”
After facing four batters, Bennett’s day on the mound was over as he moved to first base. Although Ryan Muller came in and gave up a walk, he struck out the side to get out of the inning. After the walk, Live Oak almost picked off the runner from second on a nice throw by catcher Chase Perez and tag by shortstop Dave Newton. Muller, who had eight strikeouts in the game, got the next batter with a big hanging curve, then struck out the eighth batter with a high fast ball outside.
“We took the theory that we were in it to win the whole tournament and not just the one game,” Cummins said. “For us to advance deep in the tournament we would have to have our No. 2 guy step up and beat a team like Santa Teresa. We did give up three in the first inning, but we had a lot of game left. We have to be able to score more than three runs anyways. It’s a gamble, but I would do the same thing again.”
Cummins said that Muller wouldn’t be able to bounce back and throw four or five innings on Saturday if he threw that many on Wednesday.
“He’s been real careful with his arm this year,” Cummins said. “He might have been able to close, going two or three and then pitch again on Saturday.”
The Acorns have had some history of going with the No. 2 guy first. In 1998, the No. 2 pitcher defeated Monta Vista, and then the No. 1 pitcher got the team into the semis.
The Saints had just seven hits but worked out five walks in the game.
“We had no pressure on us,” said Santa Teresa coach and former Britton teacher Steve Beaulieu. “We just barely got into CCS. The kids came out relaxed.”
Santa Teresa added single runs in the second and fourth innings and two in the sixth inning. Trevor Molyneaux made a great catch in left field to end the second inning. He ranged far into foul territory and timed his head-first slide to come up with the ball.
“We know they are going to compete,” said Beaulieu of the Acorns. “You don’t win that many game and win this tough league if you don’t. We knew they were going to fight the whole game. I am impressed with how they swing the bats. They don’t look at pitches. They go down and swinging real aggressively.”
In the bottom of the first inning, Live Oak received hope some balls would be blown around and maybe fall in for hits. Andrew Cummins hit a ball that the left fielder make a last-second adjustment on in the wind to make the catch. The Acorns found that all three outfielders could catch in that inning.
In the fourth inning, Live Oak popped three balls up to the first baseman Marcus Meier. On the first one hit by Newton, Meier went into foul territory than circled back around into fair territory before falling down and making the catch.
The Acorns, who finish their season at 17-11 overall and 11-4 in TCAL, were coming into the game after being shutout 1-0 twice in the month of May – at Salinas and at Gilroy. Live Oak didn’t get its first hit against Santa Teresa until the fifth inning.
“We couldn’t get the bats going like we should have,” Cummins said. “We had too many popups and didn’t have many quality at-bats. Their pitcher wasn’t overpowering and didn’t have the best breaking ball.”
In the seventh inning, Live Oak made the game interesting.
“Down by six runs, everyone was taking a strike,” Cummins said.
Bennett led off with his second hit of the game. With one out, Jones was plunked by a pitch. And with two gone, Andrew Cummins walked to load the bases and take out the lefty Terry (4-1) in favor of Jeff Harter.
“He was tired and his pitch count was up high,” Beaulieu said. “We were worried about his arm. He is coming off an injury and has only started two games before this.”
The strategy almost back fired as Live Oak’s Trevor Molyneaux and Newton knocked in runners as the Saint fielders misplayed balls. Muller, who had launched a solo home run over the left field fence the inning before to give the Acorns their first run, came up with the bases loaded down by four runs.
He hit a little bloop to right field that scored a run and kept the bases loaded for Sean Nourie. Nourie, with everyone in attendance knowing what he was trying to do, just missed hitting what would have been a walk-off grand slam home run as the left fielder caught the routine fly ball.
“It was a perfect pitch,” Nourie said.
“Another fraction of an inch and that would be over the left field fence, and we would be talking a different story,” Cummins said.
In other TCAL action, No. 7 San Benito defeated No. 10 Aptos and will play Saturday against No. 2 St. Francis. No. 12 Salinas lost 9-0 to No. 5 Mitty.
