Sports

Mark Cummins never saw this coming. Last Saturday, the Live Oak High baseball program honored Cummins before its annual alumni game, retiring his No. 17 jersey in a ceremony that caught the longtime coach and teacher off guard.

More than 740 runners were on their marks for the 35th annual Wildflower Run Sunday, March 25. The run, hosted by the American Academy of University Women (AAUW), began and ended at Live Oak High School in northeast Morgan Hill and is the group’s largest annual fundraiser providing scholarships to women and young girls, as well as community action grants.

For the majority of the talent-laden swimmers in the Central Coast Section, their goal is pretty simple: hit a Central Coast Section-qualifying time. Sobrato High has a handful of swimmers who have already done just that, with the possibility of more to follow. On the girls side, the Bulldogs 400 free relay team of Helena Baty, Annie Ly, Kassidy Prim and Nina Aliamus hit the CCS qualifying time in the first meet of the season in early March.

After winning just one game last year, the Live Oak High boys volleyball team has already doubled its win total this season. The Acorns are in the midst of rebuilding a program that doesn’t have the numbers to field a junior varsity team. Live Oak entered the week with a 2-4 record in the Blossom Valley League’s Santa Teresa Division, with a goal to become a consistent, competitive team.

Alex Nguyen spent his first 3 ½ years of high school at the Gilroy Early College Academy (GECA), the early college high school located in Gilroy. Even though Nguyen—a Morgan Hill resident—said he enjoyed his time at GECA, he had a burning desire to play organized volleyball (GECA doesn’t have sports teams).

When Brenden White unleashed a personal-record (PR) shot put throw of 46 feet, 2 inches in the first meet of the season, he was mildly surprised. But White doesn’t plan on stopping there; in fact, he has a goal of throwing 50 feet by the end of the season. If the Live Oak High senior hits that mark, he’ll be a strong contender to finish on the podium at the Central Coast Section Championships in May.

Mitch Martinez knows the Sobrato High baseball program is a budding one. Martinez, who coached the Bulldogs junior varsity team the previous two seasons, feels optimistic about the team’s chances this season and beyond.

When the Live Oak High baseball team played in the Blossom Valley League’s Mount Hamilton Division two years ago, things didn’t go so well. The Acorns finished the league season in last place with a 2-12 record. Live Oak promptly got demoted to the BVAL’s B division for last season, the Santa Teresa.

Approximately 2 ½ years ago, Brad Ledwith and a couple of his friends—who also happened to be parents of youth lacrosse players—gathered for dinner and talked about putting together a lacrosse organization in Morgan Hill.

Even though it’s her first year on the varsity team, junior Nicole Bonino feels comfortable in the circle. When asked if she has a go-to pitch to get an out, she said, “I like all my pitches.” That is good news since Bonino will be one of the pitchers Live Oak High relies on in its quest to contend for a Blossom Valley League Mount Hamilton Division championship.