Live Oak ends regular season with loss at Branham
SAN JOSE — Playoffs or bust, or both?
The Live Oak Acorns ended the regular season with a seventh straight loss Friday, falling 11-4 at Branham, and now turn the fate of their 2009 campaign — plus their streak of 17 postseasons — over to today’s CIF-Central Coast Section Playoffs meeting in San Jose.
Will the Acorns get a chance to defend their Division III title? It’s a “crapshoot,” as Live Oak coach Mark Cummins put it Thursday. The Acorns’ 23rd-year skipper said his team has 42 points on its resume, which includes an 8-13 record in Mount Hamilton Division play and a 15-15 mark overall. Live Oak finished seventh in league, but has an edge over the sixth-place Pioneer Mustangs, whose sub-.500 record leaves them out of contention for one of the nine at-large playoff berths.
Theoretically, this year’s Acorns would have made the cut last year, when the Mount Hamilton produced five postseason invites: Live Oak, Leigh, Branham, Santa Teresa, Westmont.
A victory Friday likely would have sealed the deal, but Chris Mendoza and last-place Branham weren’t ready to fold.
The Bruins (12-18, 7-14) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and pushed ahead with runs in the second and third before pouring in five in the sixth. Branham totaled 11 hits, including a 4-for-5 effort from Matt Urakami. Nick Rossetta added three hits and four RBIs.
Mendoza (4-8), meanwhile, was sharp in his final prep game. The Bruins’ Santa Clara-bound ace struck out eight and surrendered seven hits in six innings.
For the Acorns, Tony Austin belted his second home run of the season, and Cody Casino and Alika Bantilan batted 2 for 3. Connor Sutton, Julian Estrada and Casino drove in one run apiece.
J.P. Howard pitched 3 2-3 innings in relief of Bantilan (1-5).
