First published in the March 5 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
There have been impressive and utterly dominant performances recently by the Burroughs High School varsity softball team, which has outscored its opponents 41-0 over its past two games.
After putting up 20 runs against Alhambra Mark Keppel the day before, the Bears did one better and shut out visiting Hoover High of Glendale, 21-0, to open Pacific League action on Tuesday.
Junior starting pitcher Stevie Dabbadie was nearly perfect, as she befuddled Hoover over five no-hit innings while striking out 12 batters. Her only blemish was a hit by pitch, but Dabbadie still walked away with a mercy-rule-shortened no-hitter. At the plate, she had three hits and scored two runs.
Senior outfielder Gigi Garcia brought the pop at the plate as she finished 3-for-4 with three home runs and six RBIs. Sophomore infielder Gizelle Rangsiyawong scored in each of her four at-bats as she collected four hits, including two doubles and three RBIs. Senior third baseman Kiley Christopher also had a fine day at the plate, registering a multi-hit performance, including a home run with two RBIs and three runs scored. Junior catcher Rachel Little tallied three hits, including two doubles, two RBIs and one run scored, sophomore outfielder Mia Ramirez posted two hits, two runs and one RBI, and senior infielder Kaynan Chrysikos added two hits, one run and one RBI.
Senior outfielder Isabella Scozzola and junior outfielder Laurel Piper each had one hit with two and one runs scored, respectively. Senior and sophomore utility players Kelsey Acosta and Phoebe Spangler each recorded one hit, while senior outfielder Arley Pena scored twice.
The previous day, Acosta wrote herself into the record books as the Bears crushed visiting Mark Keppel, 20-0, on Monday, Feb. 28. She retired the first nine batters on strikes to start the game, the most by any Burroughs pitcher since at least 1995, JBHS head coach Doug Nicol told the Leader. She finished with 12 strikeouts over five innings with only one hit while finishing with a run scored at the plate.
Meanwhile, Dabbadie accounted for all of Burroughs’ extra-base hits, finishing 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, six RBIs and four runs scored. Piper tallied two hits, one RBI and one run, Little notched three hits, three runs scored and one RBI, and Scozzola finished 1-for-2 with two walks, three runs scored and two RBIs. Christopher had one hit, two RBIs and one run scored, Garcia registered one hit, three runs scored and two RBIs, and Chrysikos finished 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run scored. Ramirez and Spangler each recorded one base hit.
The Bears (7-2 overall record, 1-0 in league) are expected to resume league action by hosting Crescenta Valley High of La Crescenta on Tuesday, March 8, at 3:15 p.m.
BURBANK
It was a hard-fought battle, but the Bulldogs lost a nonleague game at Canyon High of Canyon Country, 9-6, on Wednesday. The Bulldogs tied the game 6-6 after a six-run fourth inning, but Canyon quickly retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back.
The biggest blow by Burbank came via junior shortstop Samantha Buckley’s grand slam, while senior second baseman Elizabeth Zamora finished 2-for-3 with a run scored. Junior first baseman Sasha Quintanar, junior catcher Shelby Cribbs, sophomore outfielder Belinda Lujano and sophomore third baseman Eliza Bowren each collected a base hit and a run scored, while sophomore outfielder Kara Valencia garnered a single.
The day before, Burbank shut out visiting Pasadena 10-0 in its Pacific League opener on Tuesday, March 1. The Bulldogs plated three runs in the first two innings before exploding for seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings combined.
Sophomore pitcher Grace Workman tossed a gem in the circle, striking out seven batters over five innings while only allowing one hit and one walk. She also scored once after reaching on an error.
Cribbs finished a home run shy of the cycle, collecting three hits, including a double and a triple, with three RBIs and two runs scored. Zamora tallied two RBIs on two base hits with one run scored, Quintanar posted an RBI double and two runs scored, and Buckley recorded a single and a walk while adding an RBI. Bowren finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Lujano went 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Burbank (4-6 overall, 1-0 in league) is expected to resume league action by hosting Glendale on Tuesday, March 8, at 3:15 p.m.
