By Rick Assad
Playing from behind is tough, but it’s exactly how the Burroughs High softball team played after the first inning.
From the second frame until the seventh, the Bears were never able to catch up and ultimately fell 8-1 to Arcadia in a Pacific League match on a brisk Thursday afternoon at Olive Park.
Right-handed pitcher Kelsey Acosta wasn’t particularly sharp, but the senior, who had her back tighten up in the middle of the game, and it became worse as the contest wore on, toiled six-plus innings, allowing 10 hits, striking out five and walking four, including one intentional.
“Kelsey’s back started tightening up and it affected her,” Burroughs coach Doug Nicol said. “She battled as it started tightening in the fourth.”
Junior Stevie Dabbadie took over with none out in the seventh and fanned a batter and walked a batter.
The Bears (14-6 and 3-2 in league) collected four hits off Sophia Herrera as senior Gigi Garcia finished with two singles while sophomore Mia Ramirez and sophomore Gizelle Rangsiyawong, both contributed base hits.
Burroughs had the bases loaded in the fourth inning and left two runners on base in the fifth and didn’t score a run in either.
“I’m very proud of the girls. We battled and we had our chances in the last few innings,” Nicol said. “We left five runners on base in the fourth and fifth. You’ve got to cash those in. It was a great game for six innings.”
After senior Isabella Scozzola lined to right field in the fourth, Garcia singled up the middle. Garcia took second base when Dabbadie fouled to left field.
Rangsiyawong singled to left and senior Kiley Christopher walked to load the bases. The inning came to an end when Garcia was picked off at third base.
The fifth began with Acosta drawing a walk as did senior Kaynan Chrysikos. Ramirez was called out on strikes and junior Rachel Little bounced into an inning-ending double play.
Herrera, a sophomore at Arcadia, was credited with the win after working seven innings, striking out seven and walking four.
Herrera worked a 1-2-3 second and seventh inning as she fanned four including all three in the seventh.
In the second inning, Dabbadie fanned looking, Rangsiyawong popped up to shortstop and Christopher bounced back to Herrera.
In the seventh inning, sophomore Phoebe Spangler, who was used as a pinch runner, struck out swinging, as did Lily Lewis, who was called up from the junior varsity and Chrysikos also whiffed swinging.
The Apaches (14-1 and 7-0 in league), who have now won nine straight games, struck with a run in the first inning as junior Tiara Westbrook (three hits) laced a run-scoring single to center field that plated senior Morgan Howey, (three hits) who smacked a one-out triple to right center.
Burroughs answered in the bottom half of the frame when Ramirez singled to right field to lead off the stanza.
Ramirez stole second base and when the catcher’s throw sailed into center field, the throw from the outfield buzzed past the third baseman, and in the process blocked Ramirez from racing home.
The umpires met for a few minutes and awarded Ramirez home plate to even the score at 1-1.
It was quiet for three innings until Arcadia exploded for three runs on three hits in the fourth and pulled ahead 4-1.
The Apaches had eight batters make their way to the plate and the crucial hits came off the bats of junior Giselle Lai, who drove in two runs with a single and Westbrook, who added a run-tallying base hit to center.
The topper was the seventh inning when Arcadia lined up nine batters to the dish with four batters reaching base via base hits.
They included Howey, who began the frame with a single to right field, Westbrook, who lined a hard-hit rocket off the left fielder’s glove for a double, junior Amya Ennist, who ripped a run-scoring single to right field and a two-run triple to left field by sophomore Virginia Garcia-Torres.
