Down 4-0 in the early going at Hollister-San Benito on
Wednesday, it was starting to look like the Live Oak High baseball
team was going to have to share the Tri-County Athletic League
title with the surging Haybalers. But the Acorns haven
’t been at the top of the league’s standings for most of the
season for nothing. The Acorns stormed back into the game in the
fourth and fifth innings, and went on to take the 8-7 win in eight
innings, keeping the TCAL crown all to themselves.
Down 4-0 in the early going at Hollister-San Benito on Wednesday, it was starting to look like the Live Oak High baseball team was going to have to share the Tri-County Athletic League title with the surging Haybalers. But the Acorns haven’t been at the top of the league’s standings for most of the season for nothing.
The Acorns stormed back into the game in the fourth and fifth innings, and went on to take the 8-7 win in eight innings, keeping the TCAL crown all to themselves.
“Like I told (the players), we’ve come back before and hang in there, there’s still a lot of baseball left,” LO coach Mark Cummins said. “We haven’t given up yet (this season) and I don’t think we’re going to.”
It was Live Oak’s second league title in the past three seasons, and the eighth overall in Coach Mark Cummins’ 19-year tenure. LO will make its 14th straight Central Coast Section playoff appearance beginning next week.
After spending most of the season in first place, LO was challenged in the last few weeks in a tight, four-team race for the league title. But the Acorns won four straight, including wins over Palma, Gilroy and Hollister-SB to take the crown.
“Coming down the stretch, to beat Palma in the seventh inning and come back to beat Gilroy and Hollister, it really shows what kind of character this team has,” Cummins said. “We have great seniors on this team and they showed great leadership.”
On Wednesday, Live Oak started knocking on the door with a run in the fourth to rattle the confidence of Haybaler ace Jason Sims. Then, in the fifth, the Acorns flat out broke the door down. Trailing 5-1 to start the inning, LO put together a barrage of hits, including a two-run bomb over the fence in centerfield from Shaun Standridge, that saw the Acorns take a one-run lead heading into the sixth inning.
The Haybalers knotted the score at 7-7 in the sixth and the game went into extra innings.
In the eighth, LO’s Michael Sorci led off with a walk, then stole second to move into scoring position.
With two outs, Acorn senior Bryce Wilson delivered a single that brought Sorci across the plate with the winning run.
LO finished at 12-3 in league, two games ahead of Hollister-SB and Gilroy in a second-place tie at 10-5.
LO softball
Despite finishing the season with three straight losses, including a 1-0 shutout against TCAL champion Notre Dame on Friday, the Live Oak High softball team finished in second place in the TCAL, securing one of two automatic CCS playoff berths.
LO (6-4 in TCAL, 19-8 overall) was tied with Hollister-SB, which beat the Acorns 2-1 on Wednesday, for second place but won the tiebreaker.
On Friday, ND’s Kim Reeder struck out 17 and took a perfect game into the seventh before Alyssa Adamo and April Herrera both singled to break up the bid.
LO ace Juliette Bowers allowed just three hits and struck out nine.
