Alves Leads Burroughs to 8-7 Win

The pitcher who led Burroughs High School to an 8-7 victory over Lompoc on Tuesday in the second round of the 4-A Southern Section softball playoffs doesn’t attend Burroughs. In fact, she doesn’t even attend high school.

And if things continue to go well for pitcher Christy Alves, she may get her first 4-A Southern Section title before she gets her junior high school diploma.

Alves, a ninth-grader at Luther Burbank Junior High, is the youngest member of a very young Burroughs team. Yet, despite Burroughs’ collective youth, the Indians remained tough, keeping pace with Lompoc in the first three innings and emerging with a 7-6 lead by the top of the fourth.

Alves, who earlier this season went 27 consecutive innings without giving up a hit, gave up seven hits, six runs, walked seven and struck out four. Although Tuesday’s game was far from her best, coach Jerry Libman was pleased.

“I’ll take a six-hitter in the second round of the playoffs,” he said. “That’s OK with me.”

It wasn’t OK with Alves.

“They had a lot of good hitters,” she said. “And they were hitting them flat down the middle. So, I tried to pitch a lot of rises and drops, which is probably why I ended up walking a lot of players.”

Lompoc took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning off Kazuki Uema’s fly to right-center field. In the second inning, Uema had a bases-loaded single to score the Braves’ third run.

In the bottom of the first, Burroughs’ Michelle Pallardo sneaked home when Lompoc’s shortstop and catcher tangled trying to grab a bunt by Kim Powers. In the second, Tiffany Buck scored on Terry Peppi’s double and baserunner Liz Cheshire scored on Jackie Delange’s single to tie it up at 3-3.

In the third, Lompoc took a 6-3 lead, with two singles and a sacrifice, but Burroughs came back strong. With runners on second and third, Peppi hit to right field, scoring Diane Holloway when two of Lompoc’s fielders again tangled trying to get the ball. Tiffany Buck scored on the next play off a Pallardo sacrifice, making it 6-5. Burroughs secured the lead two plays later on Delange’s double, which brought in Barbara Hoffer and Peppi, who had advanced to first and third, respectively, on a wild pitch.