Burbank Wins Share of League Title

The Burbank High baseball team won a game for the ages Tuesday. Problem is, no one is quite sure for which age.

With Jason Chandler spinning a three-hitter on 98 pitches, visiting Burbank defeated Schurr, 4-0, to clinch at least a share of the Foothill League title.

That marked Burbank’s first league championship in baseball since, well . . .

“I don’t know,” Burbank Coach Dave Johnson said. “We’ve been trying to figure it out ourselves. A lot of people have been wondering.

“We think it is in the late 1970s, but we’re not sure. It might have been in the late ‘60s. (Burbank Athletic Director Frank) Kallem has been looking through the history books and we should know soon.”

What is certain is that behind Chandler’s second consecutive complete game, Burbank improved to 15-5 overall and 11-3 in league play, a game ahead of Hart (15-6, 10-4) and two games ahead of Schurr (13-5, 9-5).

Hart beat Alhambra, 5-4, on Tuesday. The same two teams will meet again Friday and Burbank again will play Schurr in the league finale. But even if Hart wins and Burbank loses, forging a tie atop the Foothill standings, Burbank would be the league’s No. 1 representative for the Southern Section playoffs because it has beaten Hart twice in three meetings.

“Quite frankly, there is no way that I thought we would be in this position this year,” Johnson said. “Everybody worked hard all year. It’s a wonderful feeling to see the results.”

Schurr, which overcame deficits of 9-0 and 7-0 in earlier victories, threatened to rally against Burbank, loading the bases in the seventh inning with one out. But Chandler snagged a line drive by Ferni Martinez and doubled Ralph Chavez off first base to end the game.

Chandler (5-1), who threw a four-hitter in a win against Alhambra last week, was pitching before a crowd that included Cal State Fullerton assistant George Aspeitia.

“He (Chandler) wasn’t supposed to know,” Johnson said.

Chandler hit Schurr leadoff hitter O. J. Mercado but settled down, retiring the next three batters to escape the jam. Only one Schurr baserunner moved into scoring position in the first six innings.

“I was kind of nervous in the beginning, but after a while I just thought of (Aspeitia) as another spectator,” Chandler said.

Ozzie Areu had three hits, including a home run and a double, and scored two runs for the winners. Areu, who is batting .500 in his last 22 at-bats, gave Burbank a 1-0 first-inning advantage with a leadoff home run.

Andy Salazar doubled home Shad Ortiz from second to extend the lead to 2-0 in the second. Ortiz had singled and gone to second on a sacrifice by Joon Kwon.

Burbank pushed across single runs in the fourth and seventh innings thanks to Schurr errors.

Efrain Sandoval hit a two-out triple in the fourth and scored when Jay Macias overthrew home after fielding a ground ball by Salazar.

Areu scored Burbank’s final run in the seventh after Schurr pitcher John Silva overthrew first base on a bunt by Teddy Gonzales.