If Wednesday
’s Tri-County Athletic League opener is a precursor to what kind
of baseball the Live Oak High varsity is going to play this season,
put on your seat belt. The Acorns showed off a potent running game,
creating havoc on the bases to back up junior ace Kyle Mosbrucker’s
shutout pitching in LO’s
10-0 victory over visiting North Salinas. The game was ended
after five innings due to the 10-run rule. On Friday, LO won 27-0
at North Salinas in another shortened game.
If Wednesday’s Tri-County Athletic League opener is a precursor to what kind of baseball the Live Oak High varsity is going to play this season, put on your seat belt.
The Acorns showed off a potent running game, creating havoc on the bases to back up junior ace Kyle Mosbrucker’s shutout pitching in LO’s 10-0 victory over visiting North Salinas. The game was ended after five innings due to the 10-run rule. On Friday, LO won 27-0 at North Salinas in another shortened game.
In Wednesday’s game, the Acorns showcased an aggressive style on the bases, compiling five steals and rattling the Viking defense into numerous errors. And, while North Salinas (0-5-1 overall) isn’t the kind of competition LO (5-2 overall, 2-0 in TCAL) will face for most of the TCAL race, Acorn coach Mark Cummins said he was happy within his team’s focus.
“I told the guys we don’t want to think about who we’re playing, we just want to play good fundamental ball,” Cummins said. “I like the way we hit the ball and we were pretty aggressive on the bases.”
Right off the bat, LO started running, scoring its first two runs without benefit of a base hit. Senior Bryce Wilson got things started with a walk, then worried the Viking pitcher into a balk, reached third on an error on Andrew Cummins’ flyball and scored on another balk. Cummins then stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
The Acorns scored a run in the third and three more in the fourth, aided by Wilson’s two-run homer, then broke the game open in the fifth. Shayne Christman had an RBI double, and Ivan Villa and Shaun Standridge added RBI singles before Wilson ended it with an RBI single.
Mosbrucker allowed three hits and a walk, and struck out seven to pick up the victory.
