One of the keys to postseason success is by playing teams one would likely see at that level during the regular season.
It is no secret that El Segundo High is a program with a rich baseball history that includes Hall of Famer George Brett and the late coach John Stevenson, who posted a 1,059-419 record from 1960 through 2009.
Burroughs High hosted the visiting Eagles Saturday as part of the El Camino Real Tournament and put together a fine effort as three pitchers combined to earn a 4-3 win.
Starting pitcher Devan McGivern went four innings for Burroughs, giving up six hits and three earned runs. He also struck out two and hit a batter.
Reliever Vasista Dhyasani came in and pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth inning, before handing off to Sebastian Zamora in the seventh.
“Zamora has been our closer all year. We’re glad that he got to get out there today and do what he does,” Burroughs coach Matt Magallon said.
The game went quickly and finished in less than two hours.
“I think when both pitchers are commanding their pitches around the zone, people want to swing,” Magallon said. “It is a lot more exciting when kids are swinging than taking pitches.”
Burroughs ended the game on a double play as second baseman Nate Chapman was able to tag Jonathan Anderson, who was running towards second base and throw to first base to get Evan Smith.
The Bears trailed 3-2 until the bottom of the fifth when Andrew Chapman left off with a double to left field. Nate Chapman followed by reaching on a throwing error.
Two batters later, Andrew Chapman scored as the throw home by El Segundo pitcher Brady Engelhardt as a result of Mason Medina’s bunt hitting the backstop instead of catcher Lucas Bonham’s mitt.
That tied things up. Nate Chapman later scored on a passed ball.
“I think today was a great team win. I messed up a couple of times, but when I hit my spots, the defense made some plays that kept us in it. We put some numbers up and ended up winning the game,” McGivern said. “I could tell early they were a good hitting team and that they were going to hit the fastballs, so I tried to pepper the low corners and get some ground balls. The defense did its thing.”
El Segundo (6-5), which is coached by former major league pitcher Billy Traber, scored twice in the second inning. Jack Stoker was hit by pitch. Bonham then hit a double to score Stoker. Two batters later, Anthony Temesvary hit a double to score Bonham.
Burroughs tied things in the bottom half of the inning thanks to three consecutive singles from Nick Forrest, Jarell Bijasa, and Mason Mahay.
El Segundo added a run in the third inning as Jack Aguilera led off with a double, stole second base, and scored on a single by Smith.
