Burbank Gets In Too Deep in an 8-2 Setback to Hart

Burbank High was hit by a depth charge on Tuesday.

The result was an 8-2 loss to Hart in a Foothill League softball game at McCambridge Park in Burbank.

Hart (11-1, 2-0 in league play), ranked No. 10 in one national poll, showed it is one of the deepest and most talented teams in the Southland, using all 17 of its players to fend off the Bulldogs (9-5-2, 0-2), which entered the fifth inning tied, 2-2.

“Everybody on this team can contribute,” said second baseman Erica Duhart, who had two run-scoring singles, the first to give Hart a 3-2 lead in the fifth. “We can all do it and none of us has a problem being pinch-hit for.”

It’s a good thing because it happens a lot under Coach Cathy Giordano, who used her 12th lineup this season and inserted five pinch-hitters, two pinch-runners and a relief pitcher for one out in the sixth.

The Indians, who entered batting .303, collected 13 hits--23 of 41 batters reached base--against last-minute starter Kristin Carr (1-1), who stepped in for left-hander Tiffany Rhoads (8-4) after she injured her pitching shoulder during warmups.

Stacey Holbrook, Carly Caldaronello and reserve Kristin Lueke each added two hits and Sara Dean hit an RBI triple.

Carr delivered a two-run double in the fourth for Burbank to tie it, 2-2, and break a 22-inning scoreless streak by right-hander Casey Pickard.

“I don’t know the last time Burbank ever scored two runs against Hart,” Bulldog Coach Debby Day said. “It was a huge accomplishment for us.”

Pickard (5-0) allowed only two balls out of the infield, Carr’s double and a short fly out by Lyndsey Romero in the sixth, and finished with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

Hart catcher Ashley Downen, who is batting .444, was removed from the game in the second after injuring her shoulder during a rundown.

Again, depth wasn’t a problem. Dean, who has accepted a scholarship to Auburn as a catcher, took her place.