By Rick Assad
For the second time this week, Burroughs High and Burbank met on a baseball field and for the second time the Bears emerged as the winners.
On Friday night before a full house, visiting Burroughs scored three solo runs in separate innings and tacked on four runs in the seventh to ensure a 7-1 Pacific League victory.
Kyle Smith started for the Bears and went six and two-third frames and senior Kenny Montgomery finished it with a called third strike to cap the win.
“My location today was incredibly effective,” said Smith, a senior who struck out 10 with one walk and seven hits allowed. “After the first inning, I was able to pinpoint my fastball and curveball, which kept the hitters off balance for the majority of the game.”
On this evening, Smith’s battery mate was his younger brother, junior Jack Smith.
“It’s amazing. I wouldn’t want anyone else catching,” Smith said. “We have a built-in chemistry that no other pitcher-catcher duo can have.”
Burbank senior Robert Snyder wasn’t his sharpest after walking five and hitting five batters with two strikeouts in two and one-third innings.
Senior Orion Bell came in during the third inning and the senior went four and two-third frames, fanning three with three walks and yielding eight hits.
Bob Hart is the longtime Burbank skipper and despite the loss is proud of the effort.
“Robert struggled early, but settled down in the second inning. Our bats didn’t come alive at the right time,” he noted. “Timely hitting versus hitting is different. Orion pitched well but he just didn’t have the support and then it kind of got away from us at the end.”
Junior Logan Drossin collected two hits for the Bears (20-7 and 10-4 for third place in league) and senior Michael Bui had three hits for the Bulldogs (8-11 and 6-8 for fifth in league).
Burroughs coach Matt Magallon was pleased with the outcome.
“Kyle threw great. Such a great senior moment for him and to have Kenny close it out. They are two guys that have been in the program for so long and done so much for us,” Magallon said. “It was great for both of them.”
Burroughs came out and led 1-0 in the top of the first inning as Snyder faced seven batters.
The right-hander hit two and walked two including sophomore Slater Mersola with the bases loaded.
The Bulldogs answered with a run in the bottom of the first as Snyder reached on an infield single and eventually scored.
It became 2-1 in favor of the Bears in the third as Snyder saw seven batters, nicking two and walking two including senior Chase Robinson with the bases filled.
Burroughs pulled ahead 3-1 in the sixth inning as sophomore Elliot Ross led off with a single to left center and in time would cross home plate.
In the seventh, the Bears scored four runs after trotting seven batters to the dish to face Bell.
Mersola singled up the middle to lead off and the visitors then added four bunt singles while Ross added a scoring grounder.
They bunts came off the bats of Connor Cox, Robinson, Drossin and Guevara and everyone except Guevara scored.
“In the seventh inning we led off with a single and we bunted. They [Burbank] had a tough time with communication, so we kept doing it,” Magallon said. “We executed the bunts and made them make plays. It was a great inning for us.”
Burbank had something working in the fourth as senior Colby Bette singled to center and Bui also singled up the middle and Bell was safe on an infield hit.
But Smith reached back and fanned the next two batters to end the frame.
“It’s definitely hard to come back from a little struggle, but we had opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on and that’s what led to our downfall,” Bette said. “It’s an unfortunate way to end the season but it was fun while it lasted. I’m proud of this team”
Senior Taylor Pryor had a leadoff single to right field in the fifth for Burbank, but Smith struck out the next two batters and induced a grounder for the last out of the inning.
Senior Elvis Martinez singled in the fifth inning for the Bears but was stranded.
The Bears, who are ranked No. 20 in Division IV and have 7-4 record over the last 11 games, will have to wait to see which team they will play in the first round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
The Bulldogs are on a more difficult journey to qualify for the postseason as they will need an at-large bid which is a lot more tenuous given that the team placed fifth in the league.
