The terminology of a perfect game in baseball and or softball is to not let a runner reach base.
The Burbank and Burroughs softball did not offer that Friday night when the two teams hooked up at Olive Park.
But it did offer everything any fan would want to see.
The two teams were virtually flawless for eight innings, before the host Bears won it 1-0 with a one-out single in the eighth inning by Alyssa Rosales to score Stevie Dabbadie.
“I had been up to bat three other times. I wasn’t patient my other times and I went up and was patient on that at-bat and when I saw that pitch I knew if I went after it that it was going to be a hit,” Rosales said.
Burbank coach Melissa Sanchez assessed the two teams.
“I think it was an awesome game. They (Burroughs) are in first place for a reason. They are very well coached. They are stacked offensively,” Sanchez said. “My girls were doing what they needed to do. They played a great game. They just came up a little short.”
Burbank (11-9 overall, 3-3 in league) did not have any errors defensively and hit the ball hard, striking out just six times as a team over eight innings.
The Bulldogs stranded Belinda Lujano at third base in the second inning after she hit a one-out double.
Burbank was a threat again in the sixth inning as Delilah Alvarado and Samantha Buckley opened the inning with back-to-back singles.
But Dabbadie was able to get out the jam and keep her team in the game.
Burbank pitcher Maddison Kellogg was outstanding as well.
Burroughs didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning when Lilly Lewis and Dabbadie opened with back-to-back singles. But the Bulldogs stayed patient and were able to avoid giving up a run.
The Bears threatened again in the seventh inning, as they put two runners on with two outs. Kellogg got Lewis to pop up to end the threat and send it to extra innings.
Burroughs coach Doug Nicol praised his team (18-2 overall, 7-0 in league) for hanging in against a tough Burbank squad.
“You couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m so proud of the girls in how they stepped up. We had a little bit of adversity this week. We had some illness and some players missing tonight. We don’t make excuses,” he said. “Stevie got to run and she usually doesn’t get to run. That was a big moment for her. I had exhausted all of my subs so Stevie had to run.”
