Glendale High baseball dispatches Burroughs in Pacific League opener

GLENDALE — With new coaches occupying their respective dugouts, the Glendale High and Burroughs baseball teams have been eager to begin Pacific League action.

The wait for the Nitros and Indians ended Tuesday, when the squads met at Glendale.

Glendale junior starting pitcher Jack Porras grabbed the spotlight with a quality effort.

Porras gave the Nitros a big boost, as he scattered seven hits in a shutout effort to propel Glendale to a 4-0 victory.

Porras, a right-hander, needed just 74 pitches to turn back Burroughs in the first of two head-to-head matchups. .

“It’s very important to be able to go out there and get that first league win,” said Porras, who also received some stellar defense from catcher Hank Drosdik. “We know it’s going to be a tough league.

“I was able to keep on pounding the strike zone and I had my curveball working.”

Glendale (4-7-1) scored three first-inning runs to provide Porras (1-1) with a cushion. Porras struck out one, but got a pair of double plays and saw Drosdik throw out two runners attempting to steal second base in the second.

Porras said he appreciated the early offensive support and an alert defense that helped keep the Indians (6-6) at bay.

“Burroughs was aggressive at the plate and my defense played great,” Porras said. “I got some first-pitch outs to keep my pitch count down.

“Getting those early runs allowed me to relax and I could work on some different things.”

The Nitros took a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded infield single to shortstop by Brandon Keen. Tyler Lousararian then capped the scoring with a two-run double to right-center field to make it 3-0.

Porras made sure the lead would hold up.

“He’s our go-to guy,” said Glendale Coach Alan Eberhart, whose team improved to 2-0-1 in its last three games. “He did everything he could to attack the strike zone.

“If they hit it, then they hit it. He lessened his pitch count and he stayed with it. We’ve been in some close games and I like the way we came back today and started league on the right note.”

Glendale turned double plays in the third and sixth. Porras also picked off a runner to end the third.

Glendale wrapped up the scoring in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Sean Harris.

Burroughs Coach Craig Sherwood said the Indians couldn’t capitalize on their scoring opportunities.

“We had some chances, but their pitcher did a great job,” Sherwood said. “Glendale came out prepared, focused and intense and they just outplayed us.

“It looks like Glendale is turning things around now. We need to be able to get back on track.”

Glendale finished with eight hits, including two from Connor Rodriguez. Roy Hirota paced Burroughs with three hits and teammate Max Haddad added two.

The teams will meet again April 22 at Burroughs.

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Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich .