GEISMAR -- Live Oak shrugged off a loss earlier Saturday to grind pas Hammond 10-5 on the final day of the Stephen Richardson Tournament on Saturday.
The Eagles (4-1) jumped in front early and never let the Tors (1-4) completely catch up, thanks to a 10-hit attack paced by Rhett Rosevear (3-for-3, 3 runs, 2 walks), Gabe Schenk (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBIs) and Eli Johnson off the bench (3-for-3, 2 RBIs).
Schenk helped stake Live Oak to a 2-0 lead with a run-scoring double and he scored the second run on a two-out passed ball.
Hammond self-inflicted some damage in the 3rd inning when two errors, a walk and a hit batter produced an Eagle run. Johnson entered the game in the 2nd as a pinch-runner and made his first impact by dropping a base hit into left field for an RBI. Live Oak added a third run for a 5-1 lead on a wild pitch.
The Tors clawed back as close as 5-4 with a three-run 3rd frame before Sal Palermo escaped the jam by getting a groundout to shortstop Lane Hutchinson. Schenk and Johnson chased in runs in the 5th to get two of those runs back and the Eagles never looked back.
Palermo earned his first win of the season, pitching into the 7th inning before Ethan Prescott came on to log the last two outs.
Live Oak is back in action Tuesday when it hosts Franklinton at 6:30 p.m. before heading down I-12 for the St. Tammany Invitational Thursday for games vs. Slidell and St. Paul’s at St. Paul’s.
LIVE OAK 10, HAMMOND 5
Live Oak 203 320 0 -- 10 10 2
Hammond 013 010 0 -- 5 7 3
Sal Palermo, Ethan Prescott (7) and Jacob McCleary; Michael Lee, Scott Peries (3). W – Palermo (1-0). L – Lee. 2B: Live Oak – Rhett Rosevear, Gabe Schenk. 3B: Live Oak – Cody Crifasi. HR: Hammond – Michael Lee. Records: Live Oak 4-1, Hammond 1-4. Up next: Franklinton at Live Oak, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Destrehan 8, Live Oak 2
The Wildcats won their first game of 2018 and handed Live Oak its first loss with a big early inning and Josh Maccord’s mastery on the mound as the keys.
Maccord tossed a complete-game 3-hitter, striking out 7 with no walks. The only runs the Eagles nicked him for came in the 4th and 7th frames when Schenk’s one-out double led to a score and Dylan Means tripled in a run.
By the time Live Oak got on the board, Destrehan had jumped ahead 4-0. Dustin Joliff started a four-run 2nd with an inside-the-park home run and a two-out error opened the gates for three unearned runs.
DESTREHAN 8, LIVE OAK 2
Live Oak 000 100 1 -- 2 3 2
Destrehan 040 310 x -- 8 7 0
Grant Ortego, Cameron Ballard (3), Branson McCory and Cade Freneaux; Josh Maccord and Cole Porter. W – Maccord. L – Ortego (0-1). 2B: Live Oak – Gabe Schenk; Destrehan – Clay Hurm 2, Ethan West. 3B: Live Oak – Dylan Means. HR: Destrehan – Dustin Joliff. Records: Live Oak 3-1, Destrehan 1-3.
