A stellar season just keeps getting better for the Live Oak High
softball team, which has established itself as one of the area
’s top teams this year after two down seasons. On Saturday, the
Lady Acorns made quick work of a pair of overmatched opponents at
the Watsonville Tournament, routing Monte Vista Christian 11-0 and
Mercy Burlingame 8-3 on their way to the championship round of the
11-team tourney. Live Oak plays Sa
ratoga in one tourney semifinal this Saturday at 10am, while
North Salinas takes on Monterey in the other semi, also at
10am.
A stellar season just keeps getting better for the Live Oak High softball team, which has established itself as one of the area’s top teams this year after two down seasons.
On Saturday, the Lady Acorns made quick work of a pair of overmatched opponents at the Watsonville Tournament, routing Monte Vista Christian 11-0 and Mercy Burlingame 8-3 on their way to the championship round of the 11-team tourney.
Live Oak plays Saratoga in one tourney semifinal this Saturday at 10am, while North Salinas takes on Monterey in the other semi, also at 10am.
The winners advance to the tourney finale later in the day.
LO, which improved to 15-4 overall, got a look at Saratoga during the Circle of Champions tourney at Twin Creeks earlier this season. Saratoga beat LO’s Tri-County Athletic League rival Hollister-San Benito in tourney play.
The Acorns will host the Haybalers in TCAL play on Wednesday at 4pm at Community Park.
They also host Los Gatos in a non-league game today at 6pm.
Nearing the midway point of the TCAL season with a 3-1 league record, LO coach Barry McDonnell admitted he’s a little surprised by his team’s resounding success so far this season, especially because the team saw several key potential returning players forgo their senior seasons and has as much youth as it had the past two seasons when it struggled.
“I expected that, with the group that we gave and as smart as they play, we would be in every game,” McDonnell said. “But our record has been a little surprising. It’s really a tribute to how hard they work.”
In Saturday’s first tourney game, Alyssa Adamo, April Herrera, Brittney Ondich and Sarah Locarnini backed the pitching of Juliette Bowers by leading a 10-hit offensive attack for the Acorns.
Highlights included Adamo’s three-run homer, Herrera’s run-scoring triple, and solo homers from Ondich and Locarnini. Herrera had three hits and Sabrina LaCorte also had a triple.
The game was called after four and a half innings due to the 10-run rule.
Bowers had eight strikeouts in the victory.
In Saturday’s second game, Kim Reinke had a two-run double, Ondich had a solo homer, Tanya Ferry and Herrera had RBI singles, and Kelly McDonald had a two-run homer, as LO piled up 10 more hits.
JV pitcher Tricia Goularte picked up the victory, striking out 11.
Junior varsity results
March 23: LO 11, Aptos 0.
Tricia Goularte struck out every Aptos batter for a perfect game. Live Oak had eight hits.
March 31: Salinas 3, LO 1.
April 1: LO 17, Sobrato 1.
Sobrato scored first in the very first game between the two schools but Live Oak did all the rest of the scoring.
Holly Turay and Angelica Michel had three hits each.
April 5: LO 19, North Salinas 0. 20 hits by Live Oak.
April 6: Notre Dame 11, LO 0. Off day for the usually potent Acorn offense.
April 11: LO 10, Sobrato 0. Robin Nelson had two doubles.
April 13: LO 2, Gilroy 2. 13 strikeouts for Goularte.
Overall record: 12-5-2 (through April 13).
