More than two weeks after it played its last game, the Burroughs High softball team had a chance to kick start its season once again as it was invited to the CIF Southern California Division III softball championship.
The Bears hit the road to Long Beach and looked ready for the upset, only to fall short late as host St. Anthony High earned a 4-2 victory.
After the first three innings were scoreless, Burroughs (22-11-1) scored a pair of runs in the fourth to take the lead.
Gizelle Rangsiyawong and Phoebe Spangler both had singles and ended in scoring position for Alyssa Rosales, who hit a single to left field scoring Rangsiyawong.
Spangler then scored on a squeeze bunt by Mia Ramirez. But St. Anthony (17-10) scored four times in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“We just didn’t have our same mental focus that we normally have,” coach Doug Nicol said. “If you look at the season overall, it was a great year.”
Nicol, who is in his second stint as the school’s softball coach, said he told his players after the game that he would not be returning next season.
“We put a lot of this into it as coaches and there is a lot of family time that is taken away,” Nicol said. “I told the girls how I demand a lot of their time and I can’t ask you to give that same grind if I can’t do it. There’s a lot of talent coming back. They should be really good in the future. I love this senior group. I wanted to go out with them as well.”
