Wake up, Morgan Hill. Take a look at Live Oak softball, one of the premier sports programs in the city. The Acorns won the Central Coast Section Division III title at West Valley College in Saratoga on May 30, running through the playoffs with three dominant victories.
They beat Los Altos 11-5 and Capuchino 12-3 and then took the championship contest 13-6 over Leigh. The crown is the first this school year for any Live Oak team and it’s the second in four years for Coach Sarah Porras and her softballers.
Then on June 2, Live Oak edged Amador of Sutter Creek 9-8 in nine innings in a barnburner opener in the NorCal Division IV playoffs. The contest extended beyond the usual seven innings and Live Oak had to stave off several Amador threats to keep it even. CC Garcia pitched all nine innings and held the fort late, until the Acorns won the game in the last of the ninth.
The decisive run came when Eden Svoboda singled, moved to second on a ground out and came home on Peyton Goularte’s single.
“We play in a tough league,” said Porras, an Acorn softball alum herself. “We can battle with anybody. Our seniors have two titles. It’s the second time in school history a group has had two (CCS) titles. The other was in football.”
And hey, wake up New York City. Your 1927 New York Yankees, also known as the “Bronx Bombers,” are being matched offensively by the hitting firepower of these Acorns. Call them the Morgan Hill Mashers after they scored 11, 12 and 13 runs in the three games. During that span, they hit 43-for-97 for an amazing .443 average.
The Acorns have featured Julianna Altamirano’s pitching and a stellar defense. But the offense has been out of this world. Live Oak hit 14-for-31 (.452) in beating Los Altos, 13-for-34 (.382) in taking down Capuchino and 16-for-32 (.500) in the CCS title win over Leigh.
“We teach them to have an approach,” coach Porras said. “To know what pitch they are looking for. To be disciplined. And we’re aggressive baserunners. We’re taking that extra base.”
In the opener against Los Altos, the Acorns broke open a close game with a six-run sixth. Olivia Mixco had three hits on the afternoon and Adia Seider, Brooke Frausto and Quinn Hulberg-Dana each had two hits.
It was another magical sixth for Live Oak in the semifinal against Capuchino, with an 11-run frame. Seider had three hits and Hulberg-Dana, Eden Svoboda and Mixco each had two hits.
In the championship game, Live Oak jumped on top early. Seider singled to left to knock in two runs in the first. In the third, Hulberg-Dana singled and Seider followed with a triple down the right field line. Altamirano doubled down to left to bring her home and CC Garcia singled to center to make it 5-0.
Singles by Peyton Goularte, Seider and Altamirano were part of a two-run fourth. It was 7-0. The Acorns had collected nine hits by this point, while Leigh had no runs and only one hit against Altamirano.
In the fifth, Leigh put two runs on the scoreboard. Live Oak responded. Garcia and Kayla Tulowitzki singled and Mixco smashed a hit to left, as the Acorns got two runs themselves. The scoreboard read 9-2.
In the sixth, after a Leigh rally, Live Oak responded again. The Acorns began with three walks and then got a bushelful or hits, the base-knocks coming from Tulowitzki, Mixco and Hulberg-Dana.
This trophy is the sixth title in school history.
“It’s a legacy,” coach Porras said. “You play for your school. We harp on them to play for your school. It sunk in.”
No. 3-seeded Live Oak will travel to No. 2 seed Alisal in Salinas on June 4 for the NorCal semifinal round. The game starts at 4pm.
