Burbank Major softball byes into Western Regional quarterfinal
The Burbank Major All-Stars softball team was able to enjoy a much needed day off Tuesday from Western Regional play.
After going 2-1 in its pool, fourth-seeded Burbank received a bye for the first round of the knockout stage, which got underway Tuesday. Burbank will resume play at 11 a.m. Wednesday against No. 8 Wyoming or No. 5 Arizona at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino.
“Although we have today off, we are still going to practice,” Burbank Manager Rocco Buffolino said Tuesday morning. “There is an indoor facility and we are going to be able to work out and try and stay as fresh as we can.”
Although the day off gives the Burbank team of 11- and 12 year olds some much needed time to recuperate physically, Buffolino said it might not be the the best thing for his team mentally.
“We seem to do better when we keep playing and that way we can keep our momentum going,” he said. “The one game that we did lose in this tournament was when we had a day off after opening the tournament with a win.
“But I guess physically it’s a good thing for the girls. It’s been a tough grind for them in the tournament. They are away from their homes and their families, they are sleeping in different beds, they are told when to eat and when to do other things. Those kinds of things can be hard on young players.”
The off day also gives the Burbank players a break from the hot temperatures that have topped 100 degrees for the entire tournament. The heat was expected to climb to 104 on Tuesday and the forecast for Wednesday is 103.
“They have misters, so that helps,” Buffolino said. “And we just have to make sure that all the girls stay hydrated and that they’re drinking enough fluids. It has been pretty hot, but it really doesn’t affect you unless you’re standing still. When the girls are on the field playing, I think they’re thinking more about the game than the heat.”
Burbank was able to finish up play in pool B with a 7-3 victory Monday against Hawaii from Oahu’s Gold Coast Little League.
As had been the case in its two previous regional tournament games, Burbank received a fine pitching effort from Kelsey Acosta, who went the distance, striking out seven in six innings to earn the victory.
“We go four deep with our pitching and I haven’t even used all of our pitchers yet in this tournament,” Buffolino said. “That has really been our strength. We have some very good pitching that has helped lead the way for us. We have something like 25 strikeouts and about three walks in 19 innings.”
Burbank took an early lead against Hawaii, pushing across five runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead. Hawaii tallied a run in the bottom of the second before Burbank added two runs in the third to take a 7-1 advantage. Hawaii accounted for single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
The Media City squad was able to bounce back against Hawaii after suffering a 4-3 pool-play loss Sunday to Northern California and its representative from Yuba City’s Peach in Bowl Little League.
In the loss, Burbank had a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning before Northern California tied the score to force extra innings. A wild pitch in the seventh inning scored the winning run. Lizzy Zamora and Acosta had run-scoring singles for Burbank.
“That loss was really unlike us,” Buffolino said. “We usually don’t fall apart like that at the end of games.”
Burbank, the Section 2 and Southern California Division 3 champion, opened the tournament Friday with a 10-0 win in four innings against Idaho on the strength of a no-hitter from Alyssa Valenzuela (five strikeouts, one walk).
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Jeff Tully, jeff.tully@latimes.com
Twitter: @jefftsports