The Burbank High School varsity baseball team edged visiting El Rancho High of Pico Rivera, 4-3, in its CIF-Southern Section Division IV second-round game on Tuesday.
Julian Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two steals for the Bulldogs while teammate Colby Bette registered six strikeouts over 6.2 innings on the mound. Jimmy Cafferty slugged a home run, two RBIs and a run while Ben Castillo produced a double, an RBI and a walk. Danny Betancourt tallied a hit and a run while Dylan Wierbilis was credited with an RBI.
The Bulldogs previously opened the CIF playoffs with a first-round victory at Elsinore High in Wildomar, 2-0, as Cafferty pitched a complete-game shutout in a stellar effort with 15 strikeouts, two hits and no walks. Ryan Sebastion recorded a double while Joe Maslyk finished with a hit and two RBIs. Gonzalez and Castillo each had a base hit, Betancourt walked twice, and Miklo Reynoso and Adan De Pax each scored once.
Burbank (14-9 overall) visited Crean Lutheran High in Irvine for a quarterfinal matchup yesterday; the game ended after the Burbank Leader’s press deadline and will be included in next week’s issue. If victorious, the Bulldogs would advance to the semifinals against either Sultana High of Hesperia (17-9) or Chaparral High of Temecula (16-12) on Tuesday, May 16.
First published in the May 13 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
