Visiting Overfelt clinched the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division title with a 14-3 win over Live Oak Tuesday.
“It’s something we set our goal on from the beginning. We won the 'C' division last year. We had all the challenges,” said Overfelt coach Shorty Gutierrez. “Other coaches didn’t want us to come up this year, but we came up and proved everybody wrong. I knew that we had the team and the opportunity to get it done.”
Pitcher/first baseman Leo Saldivar credits Gutierrez for helping the Royals reach their full potential.
“I think we felt it was a really big game; it was a must-win. We wanted to get first place and have momentum going into our next game and into CCS," Saldivar said. "This team has a lot of charisma and a lot of heart. Nobody ever believed in us, but the coach coming in believed in us. That’s what helped us come up to 'B'. His experience helped us to not just to compete in it, but to win it.”
Highlighted by an RBI triple by Saldivar in the first, the Royals were to first to attack. Saldivar scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Overfelt added three runs in the second, highlighted by an RBI double to left by Alex Tirado and an RBI triple to center by Adam Romayor. Romayor later scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
“It was a big game to clinch. We just had our mind set on winning this game to clinch first place,” said shortstop Hector Montes. “We won with everyone working as a team, being patient, and making every pitch count.”
The third inning belonged to the Acorns, whose bats came to life. After singles from both Adrian Garcia and John Forestieri, Sean Silveria hit an RBI single. Forestieri scored on an error to pull Live Oak within 5-2.
However, the Royals extended their lead with four runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Jeider Rincon hit an RBI triple to left field which brought in both Mauricio Quiroz and Saldivar. With one out, Adam Park hit an RBI single to make it 8-2.
In the fifth, Montes singled and stole second and third, putting himself in position to score on Quiroz's RBI single to make it 9-2.
Second-place Live Oak entered the game on a four-game winning streak, putting pressure on the Royals atop the BVAL-ST Division.
“(Live Oak) has been a hot team coming in. They knew we were coming in strong as well. Getting out on top of this game was really important for us,” said Gutierrez. “It helps put the momentum on our side and trying to quiet them down because they have been hot and they have been hitting.”
Live Oak coach C.J. Goularte credited Rincon, who went the distance, striking out 11.
“They have a good pitcher. He came out with a couple big strikeouts. They shut us down,” said Goularte. “They came out, they swung it and put up a couple runs. Those guys came into our yard and they won the innings. That’s the mark of a champion.”
Overfelt right fielder Thomas Sylve, a four-year player, said: “Coming up from 'C' league, we knew we would have competition. We knew it would be a tough road to come up. But we got our stuff done and we just put it all together as a team; we united and took it.”
In the sixth, Overfelt loaded the bases with two outs. Saldivar walked to roce in a run. Quiroz hit an RBI single up the third-base line which flipped off the bag. Rincon then hit a three-run triple.
Live Oak pitcher Aaron Armijo hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth for the final run of the game.
The Acorns (14-12, 9-5 BVAL-ST) finished league play Thursday with a 5-3 win over visiting Piedmont Hills to clinch second place and an automatic bid to the CCS playoffs. Overfelt (17-10, 11-3) lost 5-4 to visiting Evergreen Valley to close out the regular season.
