Locals get a chance to shine
Jeff Tully
Although it might have been a down year for the baseball and softball
teams at Burbank and Burroughs highs, the schools did have their
share of fine athletes.
Next week, a group of local seniors will get one last chance to
play on the high-school level in two all-star games.
Indian pitcher Mike Diaz, and infielder Kyle Williams have been
chosen to take part in the 27th annual Bernie Milligan All-Star
Baseball game. The event is at 1:30 p.m. June 14 at Van Nuys
Birmingham High.
Preceding the game, there will be a home-run contest at noon.
There will also be a banquet following the game.
“We haven’t been shutout of having a player in this all-star game
for a long time,” Burroughs Coach Tom Crowther said.
The Burroughs players will compete for the East team, which
includes athletes from Crescenta Valley, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame,
Canyon, Saugus, Hart, Mission Hills Alemany and Quartz Hill.
The West squad boasts players from Thousand Oaks, Chatsworth, West
Hills Chaminade, Newbury Park and Agoura.
For the Indians this season, Diaz -- who also plays first base --
had a 7-4 record and a 2.14 earned-run average over 68 2/3 innings,
allowing 18 walks and striking out 68. He also had one save.
Williams batted .412 (33 for 80), scored 24 runs, had 19 runs
batted in, 14 walks and eight doubles. An extremely tough out,
Williams had a knack of getting on base, as he struck out just five
times and was hit by pitches seven times.
Representatives from Burbank and Burroughs will be on the field at
2 p.m. Monday taking part in the 17th annual San Fernando Valley
Softball Game at the Glendale Sports Complex.
The girls will also have their own home run hitting contest at
12:30 p.m., and will attend a banquet after the game.
Playing for the East squad is Bulldog catcher Kristin Talamantes
and Indian utility player Ryanne Hodgins
Keeping her batting average above the .500 range all season,
Talamantes was Burbank’s big offensive weapon. Along with her fine
hitting, she was also outstanding behind the plate, calling the
pitches for the Bulldog throwers.
Talamantes has earned a scholarship to Mercer University in
Georgia.
Hodgins -- who is headed to the University of New Mexico -- was
Burroughs’ leading hitter, finishing the season with a .446 average
(41 for 92). She also scored 23 runs. She was also a fine center
fielder, playing in all 26 of the team’s games.
Of the Indian and Bulldog teams, the Burroughs softball squad was
the lone school to qualify for the CIF Southern Section playoffs
after finishing third in the Foothill League.
In a Division I wild-card game at Olive Park, Burroughs was
defeated by Bishop Amat, 1-0, in eight innings.
In the 2002 softball all-star game, locals Sara Larquier of
Burroughs, Burbank’s Tiffany Rhodes and Julie Stone from Sun Valley
Village Christian took part.
Larquier went on to a successful freshman year this season as an
infielder at theUniversity of Virginia.