Mariscal Makes the Difference for Burroughs, 3-2

Entering the game, the question wasn’t how well Danny Mariscal would play.

It was whether he would play at all.

Coach Jose Valle of Burroughs High said he made the decision to start Mariscal in left field Tuesday while he was driving to school and that was primarily because of his defense.

Little did anyone imagine the impact the 5-foot-4 senior would have in his team’s surprising 3-2 victory Tuesday over Hart in a crucial Foothill League game at Burroughs.

The victory pulled Burroughs (15-10, 11-3) to within one game of first-place Hart (20-5, 12-2) in league play.

It sets up a showdown for first place when the teams meet in a rematch in the league finale for both team Friday at Hart.

Mariscal provided a hint of what was to follow in the third inning when he fielded a two-out single by Hart’s Bill Susdorf and fired a perfect throw home to prevent Matt Moore from scoring.

As it turned out, Mariscal was merely getting warmed up.

Mariscal led off the bottom of the inning with a home run to left field that gave Burroughs a 1-0 lead.

After Matt Friedrichsen put his team ahead with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth, Mariscal struck again.

This time it was a bad-hop single that bounced into center field and scored Spencer Steward and Mike Silva with the go-ahead runs.

As if that wasn’t enough, Mariscal also prevented a hit by Moore with a diving catch in left for the second out of the seventh.

Valle said it was Mariscal’s defensive ability that got him in the starting lineup.

“Danny plays left field very well here,” Valle said. “I did it mostly for his defense. The home run and the ball up the middle were just a bonus.”

Burroughs also received a strong performance from Jesse Dominguez, who pitched a three-hitter.

The complete game by Dominguez (5-3) was impressive considering it was his first start in nearly two weeks because he was suffering from a sore shoulder.

“He’s pitched some very good games this year but that was his most gutsy performance of the year,” Valle said.

Dominguez pitched the entire game even though he was smarting from a line drive that pinch-hitter Jamie Shields hit off his right leg in the sixth.

Dominguez, who was wearing an ice pack on his leg after the game, said he considered leaving the game only for a moment.

“If it hurt too much, I didn’t want to risk it with the playoffs coming up,” he said. “But I didn’t want to come out of the game.”

Phil Tognetti (5-3) suffered the loss for Hart, which is ranked No. 4 in the region by The Times.