Live Oak dominated Piedmont Hills on Tuesday 10-2, earning its fourth consecutive victory.
“Offensively our guys continued to execute,” said Live Oak coach C.J. Goularte. “We’re running the bases very well and putting ourselves in a good position."
Live Oak (9-10, 4-3 BVAL-ST) is now third place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division, while Piedmont Hills (5-10, 2-5) is in seventh.
“We’re young, but they’re hungry. They’re staying positive and battling the best they can,” said Piedmont Hills coach Tim Ballejo
Other than giving up two runs in the top of the fourth, the Acorns shut out the visiting Pirates.
Live Oak pitcher Aaron Armijo pitched well against Piedmont Hills.
“Armijo got up on the mound and pounded the strike zone,” said Goularte. “We made a couple errors behind him, but he did a really good job. He didn’t give up a hit until that last inning.”
Live Oak had things its way the first three innings, building an 8-0 lead.
The first inning was highlighted by Armijo’s RBI double to left field and Zach Riveron’s RBI single.
In the bottom of the second with one out, a wild pitch gave Armijo a free base and brought in Matthew Bergantz, who had hit a double past third base to start off the inning. Jalen Salazar added a run-scoring groundout and Riveron hit an RBI single.
In the third, Michael Porras and Bergantz scored on wild pitches and Armijo walked and later scored on a hit by Riveron.
The Pirates managed two runs in the fourth. To start off the inning, Nazario Trejo walked. He later came around to score on a single by Cam Castaneda. Piedmont Hills added another run on an RBI groundout by Chris Estrada.
Live Oak responded by getting those runs back on Armijo's long two-run homer.
