After a spectacular few years with star players, Live Oak baseball slipped last year. But in 2025, the Acorns rebounded to a 10-8 league record and were only a few tight defeats away from reaching the playoffs.
In the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Santa Teresa Division, Live Oak finished fifth. Four one-run losses and a two-run loss were the difference that kept them away from the top three teams that reached the post-season.
Nevertheless, Live Oak had great wins, big plays and contributions around the roster, including many from younger players with bright futures.
“We’re really young,” said coach Felipe Castellanos, after the May 6 Prospect game. “We start three freshmen and we’re getting better. The seniors and the older guys are leading the way. The results aren’t what we want. We’ve had some injuries and things. But the guys show up and work hard and compete.”
Seniors Bennett Nishikawa and Jonah Chattha led the offense. Nishikawa hit 14-for-37 for a .378 average. Chattha, committed to Chico State, was 27-for-75 for a .360 mark, with 21 runs scored and 20 RBIs.
Jordan Tabag was 15-for-47 for a .319 average. Thomas Guenet hit .267, freshman Noah Bergstrom was at .261 with 20 runs scored, Casey Scannell hit .243 with 13 RBIs and 19 steals and Branden Behl also had 19 steals.
Behl was often at catcher with Noah Baquiran providing depth. Chattha was a rock star at third base, with Bergstrom and Nathan Lozano as the keystone combination and freshman Jack Rice at first.
Guenet contributed at both third and first. Depth came from Austin Meads, Tabag, Cameron Correa, Dominick Paiva, Spencer Westfield, Jason Van Boening and Enzo Castellanos. The outfield featured Nathan Newberg, Scannell and Nishikawa, along with Mateo Robledo.
On the mound, Guenet was 4-5 with a 2.20 ERA, sophomore Meads was 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA and Nishikawa was 2-3 and 4.38.
Coach Castellanos noted that the pre-season record was rough, but helped get the team ready for league play. Additionally, the Acorns were piecing together lineups. League play started with a tough loss at Evergreen Valley but Live Oak really began to jell at that time.
The Acorns drilled Oak Grove 11-0 on the road and 13-5 at home two days later. In the former, Behl and Tabag were 2-for-3 and Chattha was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Live Oak stole nine bases and Guenet fashioned a five-inning masterpiece, allowing just two hits and one walk while fanning ten.
In the latter, Westfield had two hits, Guenet had two RBIs and the Acorn speed machine pilfered an amazing 14 bases, led by Scannell, Tabag and Van Boening with three apiece.
They followed that with a 9-0 rout at Piedmont Hills, the eventual league champion. That victory came via two hits each from Scannell, Bergstrom, Guenet and Westfield and another mound masterpiece from Guenet, a seven-inning four-hit shutout.
Later that week, Live Oak beat the Pirates again, with a 5-3 win. Guenet went 2-for-2, Behl stole two bags and Nishikawa threw five innings with 10 strikeouts. Chattha came in to close, and held PH scoreless over the final two frames.
Live Oak then got a measure of revenge with a 5-3 victory at Evergreen Valley. Scannell led the baserunning attack with three steals.
The Acorns lost twice to league runner-up Lincoln and then came back strong, mashing Hill 8-0 and 22-1. In the first matchup, Behl, Guenet and Chattha each had two hits and Nishikawa tossed a complete game shutout. In the latter, seven players had two hits, the Acorns totaled 11 steals and Guenet fired a 6-inning gem, allowing no earned runs.
One of the tight defeats was next, a 3-2 nailbiter to rival Sobrato. Live Oak won the rematch 4-0 behind a superb complete game shutout from Meads on the hill. Bergstrom and Bequiran each had two hits.
That was followed by a 6-0 win over Gilroy, with another sterling pitching show, as Guenet notched a complete game shutout. Unfortunately, the rematch resulted in a tough 6-4 defeat.
The playoffs had slipped away and Live Oak closed with more hard battles, 6-5 and 5-4 losses to Prospect and a 9-8 defeat to Del Mar, before ending the campaign with a somewhat cathartic 16-2 pounding of the Dons. Nine runs in the top of the first inning set more than a tone and Chattha had three hits on the day, with Behl and Nishikawa each stealing three bases.
The 6-5 loss at Prospect on May 6 was typical of Live Oak’s season. There were spells of good hitting, sharp defense and great pitching. But they were mixed in with a few mistakes and Prospect’s relentless offense eventually did damage.
Live Oak put a three-spot on the board in the top of the first. Nishikawa singled, Behl doubled to right center, Bequiran walked and Scannell had a single. Prospect replied with one run in the third and three in the fourth.
In the fifth inning, a Nishikawa double and a Behl single scored one to knot the game 4-4. But Prospect added a run in the last of the fifth and another in the sixth. LOHS came back in the seventh, with a Nishikawa single and a Behl double but fell short, 6-5.
“We had a great game but we made too many mistakes,” said Chattha, after the game. “The top of our order kept us in the game. A shoutout to Austin Meads. He’s a dog and he kept us in the game. But we’re pretty disappointed to have no playoffs.”
Coach Castellanos noted some mistakes that were costly, especially on the basepaths. He cited the mantra that pitching, baserunning and defense need to show up every game. Yet he was proud of his team fighting through injuries and other challenges all year.
Senior Chattha will continue to play baseball in college next year. He had the perspective on the season and the future. And a view that the program was on the upswing, back toward the glory days led by Landon Stump, now at UCLA, and Aiden Keenan, currently at Stanford.
“The core of the group has three freshmen and two sophomores,” Chattha said. “I think they’ll be good the next two years. The old Live Oak is coming back.”
