Indians put on hitting barrage
Jeff Tully
The Burroughs High softball team is doing its best Jekyll and Hyde
impersonation this season.
Three weeks ago in the Hoover Softball Classic, the Indians showed
their bad side by struggling on offense and losing their two games in
the tournament to Torrance and San Fernando.
However, in its last two tourneys, Burroughs has snapped out of
its funk, put on a hitting barrage and faired well in two tough
events.
Saturday, the Indians won two games in the talent-rich third
annual San Fernando Valley Victory Spring Classic at the Hjelte
Sports Complex in Encino, setting up an interesting matchup.
The Indians (7-4) will square off against Crescenta Valley (7-2)
at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in a Gold Bracket semifinal game.
“Sometimes, I don’t know which one of my teams is going to show
up,” said Burroughs Coach Jennifer Gomez, whose squad finished fifth
out of 16 teams March 22 at the Simi Valley Tournament. “But what I
think that shows is just how young we are.
“But we proved we can come through with a lot of offense, we had
26 hits in the two games.”
In the other tournament semifinal game at 1:30 p.m., L.A. Baptist
will play Granada Hills.
Playing against the Falcons through the years in nonleague games,
Gomez said she knows what to expect from CV.
“I hope they aren’t as good as they were last year,” she said.
“But what I do know is they will be very competitive and they will be
well coached.
“We just have to go out there and play like we have in our last
few tournaments. I hope we don’t do what we did in the Hoover
tournament again this season.”
In the first game, Burroughs defeated Village Christian, 4-3. It
followed with a 7-6 win against Van Nuys Birmingham in 10 innings.
The workhorse for the Indians in the event was senior pitcher Dani
Regan. Regan (6-3) pitched both games, earning two victories in 17
innings of work.
“It was hot, and it was a lot of innings for Dani,” Gomez said.
“But you will never hear her complaining, and she is always ready to
give her all for the team.”
Against Village Christian, Regan gave up two earned runs, five
hits, walked two and struck out five.
At the plate, Val Rico led the way, going three for three with a
run batted in and a stolen base. Teammate Ryanne Hodgins was two for
three with a run scored and a stolen base.
Sara Budrick was two for three and delivered a double that scored
the winning run.
Against Birmingham, Burroughs exploded for 16 hits, as every
starter had at least one.
Hodgins -- who has committed to Costal Carolina University --
drove in Budrick in the top of the 10th inning to score the
game-winning run.
Hodgins was four for six with two runs scored and a stolen bases.
Teammate Lisa Dennis went two for four, Vanessa Esquivel was two for
five and Margo Flynn was two for four.
Regan threw 10 innings, allowed five earned runs, 10 hits, struck
out four and walked one. She also helped her cause at the plate,
going two for five.
“I think this is the kind of hitting this team is capable of,”
Gomez said. “We have some good athletes who have a lot of talent at
the plate. I just hope we can keep this up.”
Through 10 games, Rico leads the team with a. 548 average and
Hodgins is hitting .462.