Burroughs baseball completes sweep against Hoover
After finishing first in the Pacific League the last two seasons, the Burroughs High baseball team would like to string together some additional success.
While the Indians lost a few key players to graduation, it hasn’t stopped them from trying to win another league championship under coach Craig Sherwood.
Burroughs turned to sophomore starting pitcher Nicco Chuidian to provide a spark Friday.
Chuidian tossed a six-hitter in a complete-game effort to power Burroughs to a 10-0 league home win against inexperienced Hoover.
The game was called in the sixth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“We’ve been there, so we know how to get there [in winning league],” said Sherwood, whose team posted a 7-3 win against Hoover on Tuesday. “It’s going to be a competitive league, probably with Crescenta Valley having the edge with their pitching. Pitching and defense will be the keys and that’s something we’ve been good at.
“It’s good to start league off on a positive note by taking the first two games. I was disappointed with the way we played Tuesday and we talked about it. I liked the way we came back today and Nicco pitched a great game. Plus, we got some big hits early and ran the bases well.”
Burroughs (6-5, 2-0 in league) received a fine effort from Chuidian. After competing on the junior varsity team last season, Chuidian has adjusted to the learning curve at the varsity stage. He improved to 3-0 and lowed his earned-run average from 0.67 to 0.42 after handcuffing the Tornadoes (3-6, 0-2).
“I came into the season a little bit nervous,” said Chuidian, a right-hander, who struck out three. “I’m becoming more confident with my stuff and I’m getting great defense.
“It’s big to start 2-0 in league, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
Burroughs scored three first-inning runs. Justin Palafox scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0. An infield single by Daniel Leonard extended the lead to 2-0 before a run-scoring single by Brandon Martinez made it 3-0.
The Indians, who split the league championship with Crescenta Valley last season, scored a run in the second to pad the lead to 4-0. Palafox scored from second after Ricky Perez struck out on a pitch in the dirt. The Hoover catcher threw the ball to first to retire Perez, but Palafox raced home as no Hoover player covered.
In the fourth, Adam Perez stole home to make it 5-0 and Steven Gonzalez had a run-scoring single to extend the lead to 6-0.
Burroughs made it 7-0 on an error by the second baseman in the fifth.
Burroughs added three runs in the sixth to cap the scoring. An RBI-single from Revin Diego made it 8-0. Chuidian walked with the bases loaded to give the Indians a 9-0 advantage. Perez then walked with the bases loaded to bring in the final run.
Hoover first-year Coach Don DiPeta said the Tornadoes continue to struggle with the fundamentals.
“We just continue to beat ourselves,” DiPeta said. “There’s absolutely no communication or leadership out there.
“I don’t have anybody who can step up, and it’s very frustrating. We have to get better in some areas. Nobody will give you anything in our league.”
Burroughs received two hits from Martinez and two runs apiece from Palafox and Perez.
Hoover got two hits each from Nathien Rivera and Matthew Jovel.
Burroughs and Hoover will participate in league games at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Indians will be at Pasadena and the Tornadoes will meet visiting Crescenta Valley.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
