Burbank softball bats heat up in win over Hoover

Having nearly reached the halfway point in Pacific League play, Burbank High softball Coach Mike Delaney offered an assessment of his team.

The one area Delaney would like to see the Bulldogs shore up is driving home runners in scoring position.

Delaney’s fears were quelled Thursday as Burbank rolled to a 19-3 league win at Hoover in a contest called after the fifth inning because of the 10-run rule.

“I think we are about where we should be, considering the way we’ve played some of our [league] games,” said Delaney, whose team finished with 16 hits to improve to 5-10, 4-2 in league. “We left a lot of runners on base in some of our earlier league games and we talked about how we need to do a better job at cashing in our opportunities.

“We’ve talked as a group about going out there and doing your job. When we do that, we are capable of beating anybody. The goal is also to be peaking at the right time by the end of league.”

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Hoover High School softball player #23 Samantha Serrano throws to first base in game vs. Burbank High School, at home in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #3 Melissa Daniel gets a hit in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Hoover High School softball player #2 Jessica Tolbert slides safely into second base in game vs. Burbank High School, at home in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #55 Alex Davis slides safely into third base in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Hoover High School softball player #21 Priscila Pena steals home plate and scores a run on a wild pitch in game vs. Burbank High School, at home in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #3 Melissa Daniel hustles to third base for a triple in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Hoover High School softball player #13 Britney Figueroa gets hit by the ball in game vs. Burbank High School, at home in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #16 Bene Snyder makes it to third base safely in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Hoover High School softball player #2 Jessica Tolbert makes it safely to third base in game vs. Burbank High School, at home in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #8 Amaya Broyls gets a hit in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Hoover High School softball player #21 Priscila Pena throws the ball back into the infield after an out in game vs. Burbank High School, at home in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #2 Katie Treadway rounds third base on her way to home and a scores a run in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #17 Anysia Gonzalez, left, and #16 Bene Snyder celebrate in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School softball player #25 Allie Benson throws a pitch in away game vs. Hoover High School, in Glendale on Thursday, April 13, 2017.  (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Burbank scored in every inning but the second to turn back Hoover (3-7, 1-5) in the first of two head-to-head meetings. The teams will meet again May 9 at McCambridge Park.

The Bulldogs received three hits from Alex Davis and two each from Anaya Broyls, Bene Snyder and Katie Treadway. Davis and Snyder scored three runs apiece.

Burbank pitchers Allie Benson, Alyssa Porras and Davis combined to allow one hit and struck out four.

Burbank took a 1-0 lead in the first on a run-scoring single by Davis. Hoover tied it at 1 in its half of the inning on an RBI single to right by Evelyn Ungar.

Then Burbank broke the game open with five runs in the third to take a 6-1 lead. Erin Lashkari had a two-run single to make it 3-1. Snyder, Melissa Daniel and Liane Lopez later drove in runs.

Hoover closed to within 6-3. Priscilla Pena scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2 and Britney Figueroa walked with the bases loaded to slice the deficit to 6-3.

The Bulldogs took advantage of three errors by the Tornadoes in the fourth to pad the lead to 12-3.

Burbank scored seven runs in the fifth to complete the scoring. Macie Jensen highlighted the inning with a two-run single to give Burbank a 15-3 lead.

“Scoring runs today wasn’t a problem,” said Davis, a center fielder. “We just need to have everybody go out there and finds ways to contribute.

“We are a strong team and it’s just about being able to put everything together at the right time.”

Hoover Coach Rich Henning said the Tornadoes are looking to find a rhythm heading into the second half of league.

“You have to play the way you practice and we didn’t do that today,” Henning said. “That’s the most disappointing thing.

“Burbank came out and we made way too many mistakes and Burbank took advantage of that in a couple of the innings. Now we have to find a way to right the ship in the second half. I’m at a loss right now, but we have to get better.”