Season ends in first round of Division I playoffs for Burroughs softball
There were no illusions for the Burroughs High softball players and coach as to what was in store for this season’s CIF Southern Section playoffs.
A year removed from the program’s finest postseason finish, a semifinal run in Division II, the Indians were moved up to the more challenging Division I this season.
Burroughs witnessed the depth of the competition in Division I Thursday afternoon, falling in a first-round game to Oaks Christian, 7-1, at Olive Park.
It is the first time the Indians have been defeated in the first round of the playoffs since 2014, when they lost to Bishop Amat, 6-3, in Division III.
“The girls knew jumping both feet into playing Division I teams that they were going to have their hands full,” Burroughs Coach Wes Tanigawa said. “That’s where there heads were at today, I think. There are just so many good teams in Division I. Look at Norco, they are ranked No. 1 in the nation and they are in our division.
“Last year when we were in Division II, the teams we played against were still good teams, but we had a better fighting chance and we were able to work our way up. But in this division, things are so much tougher.”
The loss ended the season for Burroughs (19-9), which captured a share of its third straight Pacific League championship,
The Indians ran into a talented Oaks Christian (27-6) team that tied for second in the Marmonte League.
The Lions featured sophomore Maya Brady, who has committed to UCLA. The niece of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, she was two for four with a run batted in and two runs scored, along with making some spectacular plays from her shortstop position.
Burroughs had problems generating much offense against Oaks Christian pitcher Lexi Berg, who scattered five hits and struck out four.
“We just weren’t able to get the timely hits,” Tanigawa said. “Just some key situations when we couldn’t execute and that will absolutely kill you against a team like this.”
Burroughs and junior pitcher Presley Miraglia (11 hits allowed in seven innings, four strikeouts) were able to sit down the Lions in order in just one inning, the seventh.
While Oaks Christian put runners in scoring position in the first two innings and Burroughs had a runner on second in its half of the second, neither team could capitalize on their opportunities.
The Lions ended the deadlock with two runs in the top of the third inning. Oaks Christian added three runs in the fourth for a 5-0 advantage, highlighted by a run-scoring triple by junior Kaitlin Simonsgaard and an inside-the-park solo home run by freshman Felicia Quezada.
Oaks Christian padded its lead at 7-0 with two runs in the sixth inning. Simonsgaard (two for four with two RBI and one run scored) belted her second run-scoring triple and senior Katla Ketring drove in a run with a single.
After the second inning, the Indians were able to move just one runner into scoring position over the next four innings, which occured in the fifth when junior Jesse Amaya singled down the left field line and went to second on a wild pitch.
Burroughs finally broke the shutout with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore Mia Storer walked and scored on a throwing error.
“That run meant a lot to us because that just showed that our fire was still there and we weren’t giving up,” said Storer, who also had a single. “It also showed that we could fight back.
“In this game, I think we could have had our bats come together better than we did. But we tried to fight as a team and do the best that we could.”
Miraglia, sophomore Morgan Mersola and junior Nikki Ricciardella also had hits for Burroughs.
Twitter: @jefftsports
