Live Oak moved back into a tie for first place in the Blossom
Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division with a 5-3
extra-inning win over Santa Teresa on Friday.
Live Oak moved back into a tie for first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division with a 5-3 extra-inning win over Santa Teresa on Friday.
Leigh dropped a 6-0 decision to Leland to allow the Acorns to move back into a share of the top spot. Live Oak has the tie-breaker over the Longhorns by the strength of winning two out of three over Leigh. Live Oak is now 17-7 overall and 14-5 in division play.
The Acorns took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Stephen Smith led off with a single to right field and was balked to second base. Smith advanced to third base on a ground out to the right side by Steven Rodriguez and with two outs, Cameron Willis tripled down the right field line to score Smith. Eddie Gomez followed with a single to score Willis.
Santa Teresa answered with three runs in the bottom of the third inning on two hits and a walk off starting pitcher Matthew Cummins.
The Acorns tied the score in the fourth inning. Cummins led off with a drag bunt single. Adam Perez followed with a single and Anthony Austin advanced the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Alika Bantilan singled to score Cummins and tie the score at 3-3.
“It was important for us to score that inning to get the momentum back on our side,” said Live Oak coach Mark Cummins.
The score would remain tied until the eighth inning although both teams had opportunities in the seventh to take the lead.
Live Oak had the bases loaded with one out and couldn’t score. The Saints also had the bases loaded with one out. With two strikes on Dan Oberle, the Saints attempted a suicide squeeze play. Oberle struck out and Austin tagged out Zach Jones, the runner on third, base for the final out of the inning.
“It was an intense seventh inning for both teams,” Cummins said.
The Acorns used the momentum to score a couple of runs in the eighth inning. Joe Forestieri led off with a single and Austin laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Forestieri to second base. Bantilan then belted a line drive to left field over the fence for a two-run home run to give the Acorns a 5-3 lead.
“It was a shot and the only question was if it was high enough to go over the fence,” coach Cummins said.
Cummins, who settled down after the third inning, retired the Saints in order in the eighth, striking out the last hitter to end the game. Cummins struck out seven and allowed four hits while going the distance to raise his record to 4-1 on the mound.
“Matthew pitched extremely well in some crucial situations” Cummins said.
Live Oak host Leland at 3:30pm today and is at Piedmont Hills at 3:30pm Thursday.
