Glendale softball climbs from bottom up to beat Burbank
Production at the bottom of the lineup propelled the Glendale High softball team to a wild come-from-behind 10-6 victory over visiting Burbank in Pacific League play Tuesday afternoon.
Nitros No. 8 batter Miya Legaspi and No. 9 batter Valeria Hidalgo played a large role in Glendale’s two biggest innings, the latter in which the Nitros rallied from a two-run deficit with a decisive five-run fifth inning.
“Miya and Valeria did a great job and they’re both seniors,” Glendale Coach Chris Funaro said. “I trust them to go up and have good at-bats. They both got on base and created opportunities for our No. 1, 2 and 3 batters.”
Legaspi finished one of two with two walks and three runs scored, while Hidalgo was three for four with a triple, one run batted in and two runs scored.
“The biggest thing for us is being loud,” Hidalgo said. “Even when we fell behind, we stayed loud and tried to keep everyone pumped. We tried to have the best at-bats we could and help the team.”
Burbank (5-11, 4-3 in league) scored six runs on five hits in the top of the fifth inning to surge ahead of Glendale (10-6, 4-3) by a 6-4 score.
Legaspi responded in the bottom of the inning with a single and scored when Hidalgo ripped a triple to bring the Nitros within 6-5.
The extra-base hit started a five-run inning for the Nitros, who were the beneficiaries of a passed ball, infield error and walk during the frame.
By the time the inning ended, Glendale sent nine batters to the dish and took a 9-6 advantage.
In the sixth, the Nitros added an insurance run when Legaspi walked, advanced to second on a single and scored on a single from Tiffany Bartamian (RBI, run scored).
“In our situation, we’ve seen a lot of pitches before we come up and we know where the ball is going to be thrown,” Legaspi said. “You try to make contact and get a hit.”
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The Nitros took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when lead-off batter Sammy Fabian (one for four with three runs and two stolen bases) scored on a bases-loaded walk to Mona Delarea (three RBI and two walks).
It wasn’t until the fourth when Glendale added to its advantage with a three-run inning that started with a walk to Legaspi and a single from Hidalgo.
The big blow in the inning was a two-run single from Delarea.
Burbank responded with a six-run bottom of the fourth to take a 6-4 advantage.
Melissa Daniel (two for two with a run and one RBI), Amaya Broyls and Alexis Davis connected on run-scoring singles, while Anysia Gonzalez smacked a two-run double.
The momentum from that rally, however, did not last.
“Our issue all season long is that we can’t have a 1-2-3 inning,” Burbank Coach Mike Delaney said. “Our pitchers had problems locating and we didn’t help on defense. That’s a bad combination.”
Twitter: @campadresports
