Local Baseball, Softball Players Take Part in Civitan Jamboree

The Burbank Civitan Jamboree was held Saturday at George Izay Park to commemorate the hard work of the youth in the community who participated in the Hap Minor Baseball and Ponytail Softball Season.

The event was highlighted by the recognition of the 50^th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, which helped achieve equality in female sports.

Burbank’s Linda Murphy, a former Olympic volleyball player, and local teacher and coach were on hand for the event.

The ceremony included the honoring of several teams and individuals who helped make the season a successful one.

In Hap Minor Baseball, the Burbank Mermaids were honored for their sportsmanship. In the coach/pitch division, Atta Boyz was honored for its fine sportsmanship.

The Tigers were given the award in the 3/4 Division, Rivera’s Dodgers won the award in the 5/6 Division, and the Sandoval Dodgers for the 7/8 Division.

In Ponytail Softball, the HER-icanes won in the coach/pitch division. The Sure Shot Red Pandas won the sportsmanship award in the ¾ division and the Lady Sox won in the 5/6 division.

The winner of the 51^st Jackie Arrington Memorial Award was Lucas Franco from the Batmen. The award has been given out to commemorate the life of Arrington, a youth baseball player in Burbank whose life was cut short due a terminal illness. Christopher Arbuckle of the Sandoval Dodgers was this year’s recipient of the Christopher Wilke Memorial Award. This award has been given out to serve as a memory for the baseball spirit the late former youth player had for the game.

This year marked the first year of the Linda Murphy Pioneer Award. It is named after Murphy for her efforts in helping the growth of female sports in Burbank.

Hailey Mullens from the Rainbow Rebels was the recipient of the award named for Murphy.

Also in Ponytail Softball, the Barbara Rownd award was presented. The 2022 recipient of the award was Everly Crowther. Rownd started Ponytail Softball in Burbank in 1957 and the program became a model for youth softball around the nation.