By Rick Assad
A first inning three-run deficit posed only a slight problem for the Burroughs High softball team.
Powered by the hard-hitting bats of Phoebe Spangler, junior Chloe Centeno and junior Alyssa Morales, the Bears outscored Chaminade by seven runs heading to the top of the seventh and eventually posted an 8-4 nonleague victory at Olive Park on Friday afternoon.
Spangler finished with four hits, two singles and two doubles with two runs batted in while Centeno added three hits with two RBI.
“We haven’t been behind much this year. It was great to see the resilience of this team, getting behind by three runs, and then fighting back,” longtime Burroughs coach Doug Nicol said. “We have so many character kids on this team, and that showed a lot of perseverance and determination. That’s great to see.”
Emerson Coblentz also did her part as the senior pitcher was stellar in the circle, allowing five hits with nine strikeouts and two walks across seven innings.
“Emerson is a great pitcher. She knows what adjustments she needs to make during the games, and it shows,” said Katie Taix, an assistant coach and the pitching coach. “In between innings we talk about the inning and the adjustments we can both make. Today she was in full control, and she did a fantastic job. She got stronger over time in the circle. I have confidence in her.”
The Bears went to work offensively in the bottom of the first as they tallied two runs and sent seven batters to the plate.
Centeno, who is batting .510 and has a .528 on-base percentage, singled to left field which scored a run.
Spangler, a senior who is batting .795 and has now had eight consecutive hits, lashed a single to center field that plated another run.
Spangler is easily the hottest hitter in the Pacific League and perhaps the entire Division III as the slick-fielding third baseman has belted a school-record nine home runs, with a team-best .792 on-base percentage and a team-high six stolen bases.
Burroughs, which trotted six hitters to home plate in the second inning, forged a 4-3 advantage after sophomore Karlee Earl belted a one-out, two-run double to center field.
The Eagles (7-7) evened it at 4-4 with a solo run in the fourth but in the fifth inning, the Bears (14-3) moved in front 5-4 on Centeno’s fence-clearing, leadoff home run to left center.
Burroughs sealed the game with a three-run sixth as the host sent seven batters to the dish.
Key blasts were senior Gizelle Rangsiyawong’s run-scoring double to right center, Spangler’s run-scoring double to right field and a double to left field by senior Alyssa Rosales that tallied a run.
Morales chipped in with two singles and they came in the first inning and the sixth inning.
The Eagles jumped ahead early as senior Aleksandra Albert’s double down the left-field line scored two runs and sophomore Katherine Osborne’s single to left field made it 3-0.
Chaminade’s solo run in the fourth was made possible after Albert singled to left field to lead off the frame. Freshman Shelby Rosenmeyer came in a pinch runner and stole second and third base and scored on a throwing error.
