Burroughs softball loses pitcher, CIF playoff game

The Burroughs High softball team and freshman pitcher Presley Miraglia were cruising along Tuesday in their CIF Southern Section Division III second-round game against host Laguna Hills.

The Indians and their hurler held a two-run lead with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. At that time, Miraglia was tossing a two-hitter.

Then, disaster struck.

Miraglia tried to field a comebacker that ricocheted off a finger on her pitching hand. The freshman finished the inning, but the injury prevented her from staying in the game in the seventh and final inning.

The Hawks took advantage, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with 4-3 victory against the visiting Indians.

“Sometime you are just sailing along and everything is going fine and something bad happens,” Burroughs Coach Doug Nicol said. “We had a lead, Presley was pitching great and then something like that happens.

“I just feel so bad for the girls, they worked so hard and if our pitcher doesn’t get hurt we easily win the game. That’s what’s so tough about it.”

The loss ends the season for Burroughs (24-4), which came into the contest with an eight-game winning streak and was also victorious in 21 of its previous 23. The Indians were co-Pacific League champions with cross-town rival Burbank.

Burbank also fell in its second-round playoff game Tuesday in walk-off fashion, 4-3, against host Bishop Amat.

When Miraglia suffered the injury, she was able to fight through the pain and finish out the inning. However, it was evident that she would have difficulty completing the game.

“When Presley came into the dugout after she got hit her finger just ballooned up,” Nicol said. “She went out in the seventh and took two warm-up pitches, but she just couldn’t continue, she was just in too much pain.

“Then we had to bring in someone in relief. To her credit she did a good job, but it wasn’t the same as having Presley in there.”

Laguna Hills (16-11) — the second-place team from the Sea View League — scored three runs in the seventh to walk off with the victory.

Following a long drive to south Orange County, the Indians got their offense rolling in the first inning, scoring three runs to take 3-0 lead. The first three Burroughs batters, Delaney Nicol, Michelle Santiago and Kaitlin Okimoto, singled to load the bases. The Hawks were able to record two outs with the bases still full. But then Destiny Velazquez roped a triple that brought three runs home for the early Burroughs lead.

“It was nice to get those runs early,” Nicol said. “But after that we just couldn’t score any more runs. Their pitcher was OK, but we just didn’t make the adjustments after that and we didn’t take some good at-bats. We really needed to push it more on offense.

“But our defense played well the entire game and the pitching was great...It was just an unfortunate turn of events. I’m still very proud of these girls and all that they did this season.”