It may not have been the most beautiful of wins, but the Acorns
will take it as it comes.
It may not have been the most beautiful of wins, but the Acorns will take it as it comes.
Live Oak defeated visiting Gilroy 5-2 on Friday to retain a share of first place in the Tri-County Athletic League with Hollister, who defeated Palma 9-6.
“We’re still not hitting like we can,” said Live Oak coach Mark Cummins. “We are not getting the timely hits that we have been getting the last two weeks. We’re being too aggressive. We’re swinging at some bad pitches. Good defense has been keeping us in games.”
Both Live Oak (13-5) and Hollister (13-4) have 8-2 records and will face each other on April 30 at Hollister to decide the league title in the first league game for both teams after spring break.
Live Oak has a two-week vacation from league play, but will be anything but bored during that time. On Saturday, Live Oak faces the alumni at 1 p.m. The freshman/sophomore game is at 10 p.m.
The following week Live Oak begins competition in the West Coast Classic Tournament with some of the best teams in the western United States. The Acorns open up against St. Francis DeSales from Idaho on April 22.
Gilroy got on the board first in the second inning after Ryan Muller, who pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts to improve to 7-1, brushed John Kirkish and Eric Gonzales with inside heat in consecutive at bats. Rich Chavez brought in a run with the first of Gilroy’s four hits in the game.
“I was a little nervous at first,” Muller said. “But as the game went along, I was able to settle down. The defense helped. I couldn’t done it by myself.”
After winning the first match 6-5, Gilroy with its five sophomores on the roster, made five errors that helped Live Oak break open the game. Kirkish (0-3 TCAL) took the loss.
“One part of the game let us down,” said Gilroy coach Clint Wheeler. “We couldn’t overcome a couple of errors. We got to try to get our confidence back.”
Kyle Bennett and Chase Perez led off the second inning with hits, and Bryan Jones reached base on a dropped fly ball to load the bases with no out.
Two runs scored on a ball hit by Trever Molyneaux that sophomore shortstop Jordan Newton tried to flip to second to start a double play. Jones scored on a fielder’s choice by Andrew Cummins.
Muller and Sean Nourie led off the third inning with hits. After Bennett bunted them over, Perez hit a ball that took a crazy bounce. Third baseman Peter Mickartz fielded the ball in foul territory. By the time he recovered, Perez was at first base and Muller had scored. Jones grounded out to bring in the second run.
Acorn shortstop Dave Newton made a nice play in the fifth inning to turn a double play. He came in on a soft liner and made the shoe-string catch. Newton threw the ball back to first base to double off the runner who was almost at second base.
