Burroughs shuts down Burbank

BURBANK HIGH — Once it seized momentum, there was no turning back for the Burroughs High baseball team.

Burbank had a chance to get on the scoreboard first in Friday night’s rivalry matchup against Burroughs, as the Bulldogs had runners on second and third with no outs.

Then Burroughs pitcher Shaun Bradshaw stepped up, resoundingly closing the door on a first-inning rally which was quickly brewing. He struck out Burbank’s Paul Frias and Dylan Mersola, then got Ryan Hernandez to ground out.

While there was plenty of baseball left to play, the Indians punctuated a sign of things to come for Burbank. Burroughs got its offense rolling and received five shutout innings from Bradshaw en route to a convincing 7-0 Pacific League win.

“The only trouble we had was in the first inning,” Burroughs coach J.R. Schwer said. “After that, [Bradshaw] put a stop to it pretty well. That was it. We stole the momentum.”

Said Burbank Coach Bob Hart: “I felt like the difference was what happened in the first inning. It’s a game of momentum and that was our opportunity to set a tone.”

Burroughs senior first baseman Hector Gonzales punished the Bulldogs (5-10, 2-3), going three for four with a solo home run, two singles, two RBIs and two runs scored. He belted a pitch from Andrew Hernandez to left field, leading off the second inning.

“The shadows were on at that time,” Gonzales said. “It was kind of hard to see. I took the first pitch so I could see it. The next pitch it was just right there and I swung.”

Burroughs (8-7-1, 3-2) went up, 1-0, then added a run in both the third and fourth innings.

The Indians blew the lead wide open in the fifth inning, bursting ahead with four more runs. Gonzales singled to center field, driving in Christian Garcia. Later in the inning, Eli Peppmuller singled to center field, driving in Gonzales and Zander Anding.

“When the hits come together, it’s a wonderful thing,” Schwer said.

Peppmuller’s hit came with two outs and all but ensured victory for the Indians. He went two for four with two RBIs and a run scored.

Bradshaw pitched five innings, giving up six hits, three walks, and struck out five.

Dylan Goldsack pitched a perfect sixth inning for Burroughs and Ryne Kahikina closed out the seventh inning.

“It’s a Burbank-Burroughs game,” Gonzales said. “You got to have fun and that’s what I did today.”