Senior brightens hard-luck afternoon with game-winning single;
Live Oak gains sole possession of second place
MORGAN HILL — Opportunity knocked on her door several times, and Hailey Nelson didn’t answer, not immediately.
The way she told it, Nelson had an awful game Tuesday, when the Lady Acorns hosted Westmont in a tight battle for second place in the Mount Hamilton Division. The way her Live Oak High School teammates told it, Nelson had bad luck.
Any player would be tempted to swap worst days with her in a heartbeat.
After Nelson struck out twice swinging and had a sacrifice bunt glance off her cleat for an out in the fourth inning, the senior returned to her RBI-reliable self in the ninth, smacking a hard grounder that was just deep enough to score Priscilla Orona from third base for the deciding run in a 2-1 victory.
“That’s how you break a slump: You forget about the past and continue doing your best at the plate,” LOHS manager Alex Sutton said.
The Acorns are still working on that. They scrapped for five hits against Warriors starter Lujane Mussadi but did so in bunches.
Nelson’s infield single came after Orona, the lead-off hitter, launched a triple to deep left-center field to start the inning.
“I was hoping I’d get a chance to redeem myself. This is a great feeling,” Nelson said. “It was just one of those days for me.”
Oh, was it? Nelson had another chance to end the game in the seventh, when Westmont’s Kelli Retzer sent a low line drive to her in right field with two outs and runners at first and second. Nelson dove for the ball only to have it bounce out of her glove. That allowed pinch-runner Kimberlee Miller to cross home and tie it, 1-1.
“I saw the ball go in my glove, then it was gone,” Nelson said.
Adversity surfaced numerous times for Nelson and the Acorns (5-1 league) but, in the end, only added more drama to the great opportunity they seized. It was their biggest game since their March 31 division opener, a 5-4 loss to first-place Leigh. Should the Acorns not stumble at Piedmont Hills this week, they can move into the top spot Friday when they visit Leigh at 3:30 p.m.
“One team had a chance to rise up today, and it was them not us,” Westmont skipper Jon Hennig said. “I don’t know if Live Oak’s the best in league, but they were clearly a step ahead of us. They’re a good team.”
There is room for the Acorns to improve offensively, Sutton said. The big hits are coming — just not many.
“I’d like to see more hits, but we’re not letting it get us down,” Sutton said. “We’re handling it the way we should. Girls pick each other up when they’re not hitting well, and someone always comes through.”
Orona tallied her team’s first run in the fourth after back-to-back bunt attempts by Nelson and Katie Obbema, who reached base. Jenna Robertson singled home Orona in a superbly executed hit-and-run play.
“We feed off of other each other’s hits,” said Orona, who batted 2 for 4. “When we see someone get on base, it pumps us up to bring them home. It motivates us.”
Mussadi squelched that as best she could. The sophomore righty struck out eight and surrendered five hits in the full nine innings. She got help from Jessica Barrett, who doubled and singled for the Warriors (4-2).
“It took me three at-bats to figure (Mussadi) out,” Orona said of her triple.
“She did a good job keeping us off balance,” Nelson added.
Even with pedestrian hitting, LOHS survived once again behind solid defense. Orona and Didi Lopez combined for nine assists at shortstop and third, respectively, and pitcher Rachel Ditta allowed three walks, three hits and left in line for the decision after five innings.
The Acorns were error free until the seventh. Obbema, who got the win in relief to move to 5-1, mishandled Mussadi’s come-backer that set up Retzer’s liner to Nelson.
“It wasn’t like it was Hailey’s fault we didn’t close it out in the seventh,” Sutton said. “We had other opportunities to push ahead.”
Another one will come knocking Friday.
