Burbank 10-11 baseball rolls to District 16 title
TUJUNGA — Through two and a half innings of Saturday’s Little League District 16 All-Star Tournament championship baseball game between Crescenta Valley and Burbank, it seemed like both teams would be locked in a tight battle throughout the contest.
The Burbank 10-11 squad had a one-run lead as the first two-plus innings were played in a fast pace.
But then, the bottom of the third inning started, and the game changed.
Burbank used five hits and took advantage of four Crescenta Valley errors to score nine runs in the frame, running away with a 10-0 championship-clinching victory at Tujunga Little League Field. The game, which took 65 minutes, was called after the top of the fourth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“That third inning felt so great,” said Burbank left fielder Nick Magoon, who had two doubles and scored twice in the third inning, adding to his single and run scored in the first inning. “It was awesome. We were just amazing. It was probably the best inning we ever experienced.”
Burbank’s summer will continue in the Section 2 Tournament. Burbank will play the District 40 representative at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Sherman Oaks in an opening-round game.
It will try to come close to replicating what it did Saturday, especially in the third inning.
Magoon started the inning with a double and went to third on Owen Minzes’ single. Both players scored on a Crescenta Valley error. Eight Burbank players batted and seven scored before Crescenta Valley recorded an out.
“The defense let us down in the third inning,” said Crescenta Valley Manager Larry Terenzi, whose team lost to Burbank, 7-5, on Thursday. “The wheels fell off. We couldn’t find the ball. We couldn’t get a handle of the ball. I tried to calm us down, but we couldn’t regroup. They were on top of the ball. They forced us to make plays.”
Zack Freck, Jonathan Peric, Jagg Richer, Daniel Neria, Brenton Lewis and Trevor Malden each scored for Burbank, which forced Crescenta Valley to use three pitchers and throw 41 pitches in the third inning.
Freck started for Burbank on the mound and allowed two hits, both to CadenFeehan. He also struck out two in a 46-pitch effort.
“My kids were relaxed,” Burbank Manager Thomas Magoon said. “They came out to hit and, any small error, we were running. We also got production out of everybody. We made them work.”