Another huge inning propels Burroughs softball past Glendale
The big inning has been an asset to the Burroughs High softball team, as well as a curse for Glendale in the teams’ two meetings this season.
In their first matchup in March, the Indians used a nine-run first inning to roll to an easy win against the Nitros.
In the squads’ second go-round Tuesday afternoon, Burroughs again built an early lead by pushing across seven runs in the second inning. As was the case in the first game, Glendale was unable to get much going on offense against the Indians and suffered a 15-0 five-inning Pacific League setback at Olive Park.
In was the second mercy-rule result for the Indians (14-8, 7-2 in league) over Glendale (11-7, 5-4) this season, with Burroughs earning an 11-1 victory March 30.
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“We have been able to get big leads against Glendale early in the two games that we played them and that’s always good for us,” Burroughs junior pitcher Presley Miraglia said. “We know when we do get a big lead, we just have to field and shut them down and we will keep battling to keep the lead.
“It was nice that we got those runs again early today. I’m very confident with our hitting and I know we have some good hitters and we really don’t have any weak points in our lineup.”
Miraglia enjoyed success in the circle and at the plate Tuesday. In five innings, she scattered five hits, struck out five and walked one. At the plate, she was two for four.
Burroughs was able to collect 14 hits off two Glendale pitchers. The Nitros also committed three errors.
“We just can’t make mistakes and we made some simple mistakes today that we shouldn’t have made,” Glendale Coach Chris Funaro said. “We let a ball roll past us in the outfield, we made a throwing mistake. We’re not a good enough team to make mistakes and beat a team like Burroughs.
“Against good teams like Burroughs, like CV, like Arcadia, we have to come out and play good defense; then we’re fine. But we just can’t give another team runs and that’s what we did today, gave them unearned runs.”
Burroughs sophomore Kaitlin Escamilla was three for three with a run batted in and a run scored, making her six for six with a walk in two games against Glendale. Junior Hannah Talavera was two for two with two walks and three runs batted in and senior Lauren Lopez was three for four with a three-run home run and three runs scored.
After jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Indians brought 11 batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring seven runs on five hits and benefiting from two Nitros errors. Sophomore Mia Storer drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to right field and junior Jesse Amaya (three RBI) had a double that plated two runs in the frame.
Amaya and Escamilla had RBIs in the third inning that saw Burroughs tack on four runs to increase its advantage to 12-0.
The home run by Lopez in the fourth scored three runs and upped the lead to 15-0.
Glendale was in a good position to break the shutout when it loaded the bases in the fifth inning on singles by junior Amanda Gonzalez and senior Valeria Hidalgo and a walk from senior Miya Legaspi. But Gonzalez was forced out at the plate on a grounder and Miraglia induced two infield flyouts to end the threat and the game.
“When our girls are focused and settled in a game like this, this is what they can do,” Burroughs Coach Wes Tanigawa said. “I tell them that they are capable of playing like this every single game if they just have the right mindset.”
Twitter: @jefftsports
