By Rick Assad
It was going to be an uphill fight when Burbank High faced Crescenta Valley in a Pacific League baseball game on Friday night.
There was a significant difference in the team’s records with the Falcons holding a better overall record and league mark and also had a nine-game winning streak which was extended to 10 consecutive victories after a 6-0 triumph at Stengel Field.
Crescenta Valley, which defeated Burbank 7-0 on Tuesday, scored four runs on four hits in the first inning and two frames later the Falcons tacked on two more tallies after three hits.
In the other four innings, junior pitcher Colby Bette looked extremely sharp as the right-hander didn’t allow a hit or a run.
Across six innings, Bette surrendered seven hits with four strikeouts and five walks.
“I thought Colby competed well on the hill,” Burbank coach Bob Hart said. “It’s hard when you’re getting outs that don’t become outs.”
The Bulldogs managed four hits off junior hurler Sam Sellers, who went seven innings, fanning five and walking three.
The Falcons (19-5 and 11-1 in league) sent seven batters to the plate in the opening frame and seemed ready as freshman Cole Richards doubled off the left center field fence for a run batted in.
Two batters later, senior Jacob Deno drilled a sharp one-out single to center field that scored a run.
After senior Jake Rendo slapped a single to left field, junior Jimmy Spears blooped a two-out single to right field that scored two runners.
In the Crescenta Valley third inning, sophomore Dante Cerecedes hit a looping one-out single to right field and Deno followed with a sharp single to left field.
Three batters later, Spears was safe on an infield single that scored a run. The Falcons added a second run to make it 6-0.
“These are great kids,” said longtime Crescenta Valley coach Phil Torres, who has won a CIF Southern Section championship. “They worked hard and gave themselves a chance to win a league championship.”
Next on the schedule for Crescenta Valley is a matchup with Arcadia (16-7 and 11-1 in league), which defeated Burroughs 8-3 on Friday.
“They [Arcadia] are an experienced team. We will have to execute and get a little luck,” Torres said.
With one out, junior Robert Snyder singled up the middle in the first inning for the Bulldogs (7-12 and 6-6 in league) but was erased when senior Jake Reyes was safe on a force out.
Senior Bryant Johnson grounded to second base for the final out of the frame.
In the top of the second, Burbank drew walks from sophomore Jeremy Lee and junior Michael Bui and added a two-out single to left field from junior Adrian Vasquez, but senior Ryan Sebastian grounded to second base.
Burbank managed a two-out single to center field by Johnson, but Lee hit a fly ball to left field to end the frame.
In the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs saw Bette walk with one out and Bui singled to left. The end of the stanza came when Vasquez lined to shortstop who threw to second base for a double play.
“That was a baserunning mistake here and less than timely hitting,” Hart said. “We had a chance to get back in the game but did not produce.”
Next Tuesday, Burbank will host Burroughs (18-4 and 10-2 in league) and on Friday, the Bears will host the Bulldogs. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
