By Rick Assad
Burroughs High’s baseball team took on longtime rival Burbank on Friday night and after seven innings had been contested, came away with a 9-0 Pacific League triumph on Senior Night.
And with that victory, it gave the Bears their first league title since 2016 when the team went 19-7 and 12-2 in league under head coach Craig Sherwood.
Sherwood also led the team to the league championship in 2015 with a 24-5 mark and 13-1 in league play.
This season Arcadia (17-9 and 12-2 in league) took second place and Crescenta Valley (17-5 and 11-3 in league) placed third.
Matt Magallon has been the Burroughs head coach since 2020 and is proud of what the team has accomplished this season.
“It shows that we are doing things the right way,” he said. “This is a college prep program, and we established this vision when we arrived and it’s great to see the hard work that the players have put in.”
Kayson Montgomery went seven innings on the mound for the host Bears (20-4 and 13-1 in league), who backed the junior right-hander with a 12-hit attack.
Montgomery struck out 12 and allowed one walk and retired the side in order in the second inning, third, fourth and fifth inning and struck out six batters during those frames.
Senior Thomas Martin delivered three singles and drove in three runs while Montgomery added a double and a triple.
The Bulldogs (3-15-1 and 3-10-1 in league) finished with three singles and they came off the bats of senior Julian Recinos, senior Tomas Angel and sophomore Luka Kuiper.
Burroughs used a four-hit second inning to pull ahead 3-0 as seven batters stepped to the plate.
Junior Jake Rausenswinder pushed a bloop single to left field and Martin sliced a base hit to left.
Junior Slater Mersola singled to right field for a run batted in and senior Zack Guevara added an RBI grounder.
Junior Elliot Ross doubled to right center and stole second base but didn’t score.
The Bears’ advantage blossomed to 8-0 after a five-run, five-hit third frame as 10 batters came to the home plate.
After senior Devin Whittekiend led off by getting hit by a pitch from senior Ryland Le Clair, senior Jack Smith then singled to left field. Both runners crossed the plate on a single from Martin.
Montgomery ripped a triple to left field and scored on a single from Guevara.
Guevera went to second base on a single from Ross and then went to third base on a wild pitch.
The cushion became 9-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning as Martin’s single to left field plated Rauenswinder, who doubled to center field with one out.
Magallon hopes the team will do well in the CIF Southern Section playoffs but this is not a one-man show.
“This is a players for coaches and coaches for players program,” he said. “I love our team and this program. Our administrative team and the community that comes out and supports us every game.”
Le Clair surrendered a dozen hits over five innings, fanned three, walked two and hit one batter. Recinos pitched one frame and struck out one batter.
Burbank didn’t have its most productive season but, in every game it played the team exhibited intensity and enthusiasm.
This can be attributed to longtime head coach Bob Hart, who knows the game and places a strong emphasis on the fundamentals.
And credit should also be given to every player who wore the Bulldog uniform.
