Live Oak senior pitcher Hunter Owens faced loaded bases, a 3-1 hole and the top of a strong Parkview Baptist lineup in the seventh inning Thursday night. He had a two-run lead and only one out.
But Owens stayed calm and retired the final two batters, preserving a 6-4 win for District 5-5A Live Oak (18-3) over a tough non-district foe. Across 3 ⅓ innings of relief, Owens quieted Parkview’s bats and allowed zero runs. He struck out three.
“They threw a Division I pitcher,” Live Oak Jesse Cassard said. “We threw a kid that’s gonna be a Division I pitcher, so that’s what we want early in the season before district to test us. We had a couple kids get some really big hits in key times.”
District 6-3A Parkview Baptist (16-5) started junior lefty Brant Melancon. But the Southeastern commit was pulled after he allowed five hits and four earned runs across 4 ⅔ innings. Live Oak’s sophomore Sawyer Pruitt didn’t have much success either. He let the Eagles score four runs and record eight hits.
Parkview plated one run in the top of the first with Luke Pittman’s sacrifice bunt. Then Live Oak countered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Cooper Smith scored the first with a solo home run that bounced off the right-field foul pole. And Hayden Everett batted in the second.
Parkview then regained the lead in the fourth inning with Pittman’s two-RBI single, hit hard between second and third base. But once again, Live Oak responded. First, Logan Coley smacked an RBI double into left field. Then Kenny Berard scored two with a triple. His hit skied all the way to the left-center wall.
“We’re not dependent on just one guy to get the big hit,” Cassard said. “We had a couple kids show up and got some hits when we needed it, so it was a good win.”
That set up a pivotal sixth inning, when Live Oak had a chance to extend its lead. The Eagles put their leadoff hitter in scoring position, but Parkview pitcher Wesley Marien settled in, retiring three of the next four batters he faced. The first grounded out to second. The second lined out to first. And the third struck out.
In the top of the seventh inning, the leadoff Parkview batter flew out. But Owens loaded the bases after allowing an infield single, hitting a batter and walking another. The next batter he faced flew out to shallow left field, holding the runner at third. And the final one went down swinging.
“(The runs) helped us at the beginning,” Cassard said, “but then they didn’t quit. Like I told our guys, when you face a good team, they’re not gonna quit. They’re not just gonna lay down and let you beat them.”
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