Burbank 10-11 All-Stars dominate in taking Section 2 softball title

The Burbank Little League 10-11 All-Stars softball team went into Wednesday’s Section 2 championship game with a wealth of confidence.

The self-assurance stemmed from the fact that Burbank was taking on the same Tehachapi team it defeated by 15 runs the night before.

As was the case in the first meeting, Burbank dominated its District 51 opponent in the rematch at the Palmdale Little League Complex. Burbank scored early and often and left the field with an 18-0 victory and the Section 2 title.

“We didn’t want to go into the game too overconfident, but we saw the way that they played on Tuesday and we were pretty confident that we could win this game,” Burbank Manager Peter Orozco said. “We knew that if we played the way that we did in the first game then it would be our title.”

The win puts Burbank, which won the District 16 championship, into the 10-11 state tournament, which runs from Saturday to July 19. Burbank opens play at 6 p.m. Saturday against the Section 4 champion at Lions Park in Banning.

Burbank left little doubt that it came to play, scoring nine runs in the first inning to take a big, early lead.

“I really don’t want to take anything away from their team,” Orozco said. “They were out there and they were giving it the best that they had. But our girls were just more talented than they were. We came out motivated.

“I know that we could have scored more runs and it would have been a lot worse. But we were stepping off bases and getting out on purpose so it wouldn’t get even more out of hand.”

Starting pitcher Sidnie Dabbadie got the win in the circle for Burbank.

On offense, Savannah Benson delivered a bases-loaded triple in the first inning to ignite Burbank. Erika Montoya had two hits and Isabella Orozco and Asia Morales also had big hits in the inning.

“We really had a good game in all areas,” Peter Orozco said. “We hit well, Sidnie was hitting her spots, the defense played well and we were able to steal bases. It was a really good all-around effort.”

With a few days until Burbank is back in action in its next tournament, Orozco said his squad will not rest on this championship, but will instead get back to work.

“We know we didn’t get the best competition in the last two games,” he said. “So we are going to get back to practicing [Thursday] and we will have batting practice on Friday. We think we have a good team and we are looking forward to the next tournament.”

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Follow Jeff Tully on Twitter: @jefftsports.