By Rick Assad
There is always something special when Burroughs High and Burbank take the field or court against one another.
On Wednesday night at a filled Olive Park, junior Valentina Reyes pitched well and five batters drove in a run as the Bears blasted the Bulldogs 11-1 in a Pacific League game that ended after five innings, via a 10-run mercy rule on Senior Night.
Burroughs recognized five upperclassmen and they included Karlee Earl, Hailey Perez, Eva Acevedo, Neyla Cervantes and Hailey Franco.
Earl came through with a single and a double and two runs batted in.
“I feel that the game was very community driven and it was very uplifting to have so many fans support us,” she said. “Our team really came together today and everyone pulled for each other making Senior Night and the win so much more special.”
Ahead 6-1 entering the top of the fifth, the Bears rolled out a five-run, three-hit effort in the bottom half of the frame to conclude the game.
Eight came to the plate as freshman Sydney Shugar singled in a run as did sophomore Haven Vickers while Earl’s two-run single to left field capped the contest.
In the circle, Reyes struck out seven with two walks and surrendered four hits across five frames.
Junior Chloe Zavala drove in three runs and had a pair of singles for the Bears while junior Ali Cortez doubled in two runs.
Longtime Burroughs head coach Doug Nicol liked what went on during the game.
“I was impressed with our resilience. We got off to a little bit of a slow start and made a quick error, but we bounced back and showed a lot of fight,” he said. “I am really proud of everyone. It was a total team effort.”
Nicol added: “This team has a lot of fight and never gives up,” he stated. “They aren’t selfish and they aren’t quitters. They will fight till the end and for that I am proud of them.”
The Bulldogs (3-9 and 3-4 in league) began the game with a run in the first inning as six batters came to the plate and two batters reached on base hits.
Junior Kassandra Davila-Kimmer led off with a walk and moved to second base on a single by freshman Addison Lombardo.
Junior Priscilla Sanchez (two hits) delivered an infield single and Davila-Kimmer crossed the plate on an error.
Burbank’s lone senior, pitcher Kayla McPherson, was also recognized and she went four and one-third innings, yielding eight hits and issued four walks and hit three batters and struck out five.
The Bears (14-8 and 6-1 in league) responded in the bottom of the first frame by collecting three hits and scoring four runs.
Nine batters walked to home plate and Zavala’s two-out single plated a run and Shugar added a run batted in single to center field and Cortez swatted a two-run double to left field.
The lead swelled to 6-1 in the second inning as Zavala clubbed a two-out, two-run single to right field.
Junior Sophie Rangsiyawang was hit by a pitch in the second inning and came around to score a run for the Bears.
“I think it was a really good game,” Rangsiyawang said. “We all worked together as a team to get all the runs, and everyone did a great job on having Valentina’s back. We were really confident going into the game and I’m glad we proved everyone right.”
Burbank head coach Javier Rojas knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“I think we hit well, and we had a lot of energy, and we played through the game,” he explained. “Unfortunately, the last inning got out of hand, but I think the errors hurt the most.”
Rojas believes the team will get better but it’s going to take time.
“But I’m proud of my girls,” he said. “We’re a young team and will learn from this game.”
Junior Chloe Updike had an infield single in the third inning for the Bulldogs but failed to score after being thrown out at home plate.
