Hart Hit Men Provide Numbers for 22nd Win

It was difficult to decide which was more impressive Tuesday night at Burroughs High: Hart catcher Casey Burrill knocking out four hits or Hart pitcher Jason Edwards scattering six hits.

Either way, Hart was a hit as usual, defeating Burroughs, 8-0, to remain unbeaten. Hart is 22-0, 12-0 in Foothill League play.

The victory also clinched what was already a foregone conclusion--the league title.

At least that’s the way Hart seemed to view it. Oh, sure, the Indians were happy to win the title, but to a team that has never known defeat, greater things are sought.

“It’s OK, no big deal,” Coach Bud Murray said with a shrug. “But we’re looking mainly at the one that’s down the road about nine games.

“But I’m glad we won this. I’m happy for the kids.”

And if Edwards and Burrill continue to pitch and hit the way they did against Burroughs, that game about nine down the road--the Southern Section 4-A Division final--may come easily.

Ease describes Edwards’ masterful outing, in which he struck out nine and walked one. Edwards, a junior right-hander, kept Burroughs continually off balance by mixing his fastball and slider.

“Jason throws so really well,” Burroughs Coach Ed Knaggs said. “He throws that nice tight slider that you just don’t see in high school.”

Edwards is 9-0 with an earned-run average of 0.76 in 64 innings. He has 72 strikeouts and has allowed 52 hits and 15 walks.

“My slider was working really well tonight,” he said. “Mixing that with my fastball worked really well.”

Also working well was the bat of Burrill, who broke out of a recent slump with a 4-for-4 effort, including three runs batted in and a mammoth, 430-foot home run to dead center field that gave Hart its 8-0 lead.

“Coach really got on me about my hitting at practice yesterday,” Burrill said. “He had me backing off the plate and stepping toward second more.”

And as he stepped up the first base line after drilling the home run, Burrill allowed himself the enjoyment of gazing at the ball as it disappeared into the darkness.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, laughing. “I watched it.”