Pitcher tosses a gem as Acorns kick off key 4-game stretch

Justin Sanders faced a 3-2 count against Pioneer’s leadoff hitter with two outs and a runner on third in the fifth inning. He fooled Sean Rooney with a cutter for a strikeout to end the inning.
As Sanders came back to the dugout, he was pumped.
He emphatically slapped hands with his teammates shouting, “That’s why I have a cutter!”
The enthusiasm never waned for Sanders, who retired the next six hitters in order and came up with a key sixth-inning double that led Live Oak to a 4-2 win.
“I’m excited because it matters to him and it means it matters to the whole team and being accountable to the rest of the guys out there,” said coach CJ Goularte.
With the win, Live Oak remains two-games back of first place Branham with three to play. The Acorns are in a tie for third with Willow Glen, who knocked off Santa Teresa, 6-1 on Tuesday.
“I told the boys the other day, the only way up is up. If you’re going to move up, the only way to do that is to start beating people,” Goularte said.
Live Oak went into the sixth inning with the game tied 2-2 and the top of the lineup coming up to bat.
In the fourth inning, the same hitters sparked a rally that tied the game without a ball leaving the infield.
In the sixth inning, Josh Alaniz led off with an infield single—his second of the game—and went to third on a double from Justin Sanders.
Alaniz was being held at third when the throw from the outfield took a funny bounce through the infield. Pioneer’s catcher raced along the third base line to keep it in front of him, but it still went to the back stop.
Once he saw the ball trickle through, Alaniz took off for home to score the go-ahead run.
“He was able to steal it because there’s a debacle. We put pressure on them and we were able to take advantage,” Goularte said. “Huge credit to our guys for just staying the course. … When the opportunities come, they’re there to take advantage of them.”
After going to third on the play, Sanders gave Live Oak an insurance run when he scored two batters later on a single from Michael Porras.
That was Porras’ second RBI of the day, after driving in Kyle Riveron on a ground ball to short in the fourth inning to tie the game.
Alaniz finished the game going 2-3 with two runs scored. Sanders went 1-2 with a run scored and a sacrifice bunt.
Porras went 1-3 with two RBIs. Zach Riveron and John Austin both finished the day with hits.
Live Oak got off to a slow start, with Pioneer pitcher Ryan Dalton retiring the first nine hitters in order.
“He had some decent stuff and his fast ball moved a little bit,” Goularte said. “They just needed to see it once and once they had seen it, it was time to execute the approach.”
Goularte said the boys were trying to do a little too much early on, but he said once Live Oak turned over the lineup, they started going with an approach to right field that allowed the Acorns to get base runners.
Dalton still had a strong game, throwing 21 first pitch strikes out of the 25 batters he faced. He left the game throwing 62 pitches through six innings.
He finished the game going six innings, yielding four runs—two earned—on seven hits and no walks with four strikeouts.
Sanders, however, was just that much better.
He went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.
Sanders retired the lead off hitter in five of the seven innings he pitched, which is coincidently how Pioneer scored both of its runs.
In the second inning, Josh Smith launched a double to deep left field and stole third with one out.
Goularte knowing that one run might make a difference in the game, brought his infield to the edge of the grass.
It didn’t pay off as the next hitter reached a Texas Leaguer just off the infield behind second.
That allowed the run to score.
“I’m thinking it might be a close ball game today, I had the infield in and they just bloop one out,” Goularte said. “If the infield is back, that ball is caught and that guy doesn’t ever score.”
Pioneer made it 2-0 the next inning when Grant Ford led off with an infield single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Sanders recorded a strikeout, Dalton lined a single to center to score Grant.
But that was the extent of Pioneer’s offense.
“That’s been the story of Justin’s season, really,” Goularte said. “Justin hasn’t been hit all around the yard. It’s been some game where there’s a mistake: Either he hangs a pitch or maybe we make a defensive mistake. All of a sudden there’s a cheap one, but he bears down and gets out of it.”
Sanders allowed one more baserunner after the third inning and retired the final eight hitters he faced in order.
Ford was the only base runner to get on when he reached on a one-out single in the fifth and stole third with two outs.
But Sanders filled Rooney’s hat by striking him out for the third time in the game to end the threat.
Live Oak still has one more against Pioneer on Thursday before closing out the regular season against Branham next week.
The Acorns have to get the sweep behind ace pitcher Porras on Thursday to have a chance at stealing a league title from Branham next week.
Live Oak will also need Leigh—currently in second with a 7-4 league mark—to drop at least one game.
Willow Glen may also play a role in things assuming the Rams win their next three games: One more against Santa Teresa followed by a two-game set against Leland.
The Rams need to win out and need Live Oak to sweep Branham and Leigh to lose at least once to be in the mix.
Branham is squaring off against Westmont this week before playing Live Oak.