Burroughs softball’s Bookmyer named league player of the year
In the fall, Chloe Bookmyer swings a racket as the top singles player for the Burroughs High girls’ tennis team.
In the spring, Bookmyer exchanges her tennis equipment for a bat as a starter for the Indians’ softball squad.
“Believe it or not, playing in each sport helps me in the other sport,” Bookmyer said. “I sometimes bring my tennis swing into softball and sometimes softball helps me with tennis, so it’s a great combination for me.”
Bookmyer’s swing was mighty for the Burroughs softball team during the 2018 campaign, as she led the team in hitting.
It is because of her efforts that Bookmyer was named the Pacific League Player of the Year.
“I’m really honored that people voted for me and I was able to win that,” said Bookmyer, a first baseman “I am pretty amazed because there were a lot of good players in our league this year.
“For this season, and more so in league, I just went into it just hoping to try my best, do what I need to do and play my game. I think also I felt a lot more confident at the plate compared to last year when I was a freshman and I just felt more comfortable all around. Things just came a lot easier this year and it felt more natural.”
Bookmyer batted .659 with 26 hits, 16 runs scored, 15 runs batted in, six doubles and an .886 slugging percentage for Burroughs (14-5-1, 12-2 in league), which took second in league behind Crescenta Valley.
In all, 11 players from Burroughs and Burbank earned all-league honors.
Earning spots on the first team were Indians senior pitcher Presley Miraglia and junior outfielder Mia Storer, along with Bulldogs junior infielder Alex Davis and senior utility Macie Jensen.
Second-team selections included junior utility Desi Gomez and junior catcher Amaya Broyls of Burbank and senior outfielder Hannah Talavera and junior outfielder Kaitlin Escamilla of Burroughs.
Honorable mention went to Bulldogs junior pitcher Alyssa Porras and Indians sophomore pitcher Isabella Kam.
After failing to qualify for the CIF Southern Section playoffs in 2017 after finishing fifth in league, Burbank (16-12, 10-4 in league) bounced back this past season to finish third.
Davis tied with Jensen for the team-best in hits with 30. She batted .366 with 23 runs, 19 RBI, three home runs and three triples to go along with a team-best slugging percentage of .585. In addition, Davis had 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts.
“I think Alex’s main strength was her dedication to what she’s doing,” Burbank coach Mike Delaney said. “She is very in tune with her swing and she works very hard on her hitting. She is also always looking to make herself better. Defensively, she has proven to be a great center fielder. …And just overall she has such a high softball IQ and she understands the game so well.”
Jensen finished with a .385 batting average, tied for the team lead with 21 RBI, had 24 runs, five triples, two home runs and swiped 16 bases in 17 attempts.
“Macie was very focused on what she wanted to do do this year coming into this season,” Delaney said. “She started out a little slow then she started building things and we found a comfortable spot to bat her in the lineup and then she started producing. We switched her from second base to right field and that made our defense stronger.”
Miraglia, who is headed to Long Beach State, and Storer played big roles in helping Burroughs (14-5-1, 12-2) finish second in league, just one game behind champion Crescenta Valley.
At the plate, Miragila had a .536 batting average with 15 hits, while in the circle she was 5-1 with a 0.65 earned-run average with 44 strikeouts and two walks over 43 innings.
Storer batted .450 with 18 hits, 13 runs and five RBI.
“Presley missed the first part of the season, but she she came back and she really made a big difference for us,” Bookmyer said. “We were all happy when she did come back and I think it gave us all a boost of confidence because we knew we could rely on her. She is just an amazing player and she helped us a lot.
“I hit behind Mia in the lineup and I think having someone like that really helped me because the pitchers had to concentrate on her first and then pitch to me. I knew she would always come though with a hit or get on base for us. She was also a great player defensively.”
For Burbank, Gomez had a .354 average with 23 hits, 19 RBI, seven runs and three triples, while Broyls hit .354 with 29 hits, 18 runs, 16 RBI and two home runs and Porras was 11-5 with a 1.94 earned-run average with 76 strikeouts and 27 walks in 11 2/3 innings.
Talavera had a .393 average with 24 hits, 14 runs, 13 RBI and two home runs, Escamilla hit .440 with 22 hits, 12 runs and eight RBI and Kam was 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and had 29 strikeouts and nine walks over 31 2/3 innings for Burroughs.
Editor’s Note: Burroughs statistics, taken from Maxpreps.com, do not include totals from the Indians’ postseason games as they were not made available.
Twitter: @jefftsports
