Live Oak pitcher Mitch Hickey received the Sophomore of the Year award as one of four Acorns who earned first- or second-team All-Santa Teresa Division recognition.
Hickey was named to the first team along with rotation-mate Jakob Conlan and junior infielder John Forestieri, who was vying for a triple crown in batting.
Junior outfielder Ben Nuno made the second team, and Adrian Garcia and Matt Bergantz were honorable mentions for Live Oak (14-12, 11-10), which tied for second in the Santa Teresa Division and nearly earned a Central Coast Section playoff berth.
Hickey went 7-2 this spring and was second in the division in strikeouts (93). He had an ERA of 2.98 in 14 appearances. Hickey helped the Acorns with his bat as well, averaging .364 with 18 RBIs and 25 runs scored. Most of his offensive numbers were second highest on the team behind Forestieri, who hit safely in all but six games this year.
A finalist for Junior of the Year, Forestieri led the league in batting average (.468), slugging percentage (.646) and on-base percentage (.574), and was tied for second with two home runs. Forestieri also drove in 19 runs, a team best.
Conlan, like the Acorns, got off to a slow start but became a driving force late in the season. The lefty (4-4) went 3-0 in his final four starts, lowering his ERA to a club-best 2.21. Conlan (.325 BA) also stole 13 bases, tying Nuno for a team high, drove in 17 runs and matched Forestieri with six doubles.
Nuno, one of 15 underclassmen for Live Oak, had 28 hits and scored 22 times. Bergantz collected 21 hits and 13 RBIs, and Garcia had 13 and 12.
