Burbank-Jewel City Major baseball no match for Quartz Hill

It was a tough opening effort for the Burbank-Jewel City/Jewish War Veterans Major All-Stars baseball team in Wednesday afternoon’s Section 2 action.

Burbank was shut down and shut out by District 51 champion Quartz Hill, 12-0, in five innings at Sherman Oaks Little League Fields.

“The team just needs to hit the ball, it’s pretty simple,” Burbank Coach Chris Vanole said. “The kids [from Quartz Hill] threw the ball hard, but we were just looking at it. They threw good strikes down the middle. It’s nothing different than the batting cages and we let them go right by.”

With the defeat, Burbank dropped into the second-chance bracket and will face host Sherman Oaks on Friday at 5 p.m.

District 40 champion Sherman Oaks also lost its opener, 7-5, to District 17 champion Santa Anita on Tuesday.

A loss Friday would end Burbank’s season, while a victory would vault the District 16 champs into Saturday’s action at 9 a.m. versus either Quartz Hill or Santa Anita.

While Burbank’s offense struggled, the pitching was also hit hard.

“The pitchers threw way too many pitches that were belt high to these guys and they hit it out of the park,” Vanole said.

If there’s good news for Burbank, perhaps the squad can rely on its experience coming back from adversity.

The team lost in Saturday’s District 16 championship opener to Foothill, 14-4, before rallying for a 5-3 victory at Montrose Park on Sunday in the finale.

“To win you have to hit,” Vanole said. “You can’t play baseball without hitting and that’s what we have to do.”