8 run 3rd inning propels the Bears to a mercy rule victory

The John Burroughs Bears softball team came out on top with a 15-2 win over the Golden Valley Grizzlies after the Bears put up 8 runs in the 3rd inning to secure a mercy rule victory. This was the season opener for both teams, with Burroughs coming into the new season as the defending Pacific League champions and Golden Valley coming off a losing season a year ago. Both teams faced off against each other a year ago with Burroughs winning 16-1 back on February, 14th of last season.

Burroughs started off the game on a positive note with Emerson Colbentz striking out the side in the top of the 1st inning followed by a 5-run bottom half of the 1st for the Bears. Gizelle Rangsiyawong and Chloe Centeno had back-to-back RBI doubles to get the offense going for the Bears, while Phoebe Sprangler drove in 2 more runs with an RBI triple. Skylar Vanole drove in Spangler with an RBI groundout to make it a 5-0 game.The Bears continued to put up more runs on the scoreboard in the home half of the 2nd inning with Alyssa Morales and Karlee Earl both having back-to-back RBI doubles to make it a 7-0 game. Colbentz had a bit of trouble in the 3rd inning when she walked two Golden Valley batters with the bases loaded, resulting in 2 runs scored. After walking her second batter of the game and 2.1 innings pitched, Colbentz was pulled and Valentina Reyes came in relief and struck out Layla Moreno to strand the bases loaded. Colbentz finished with 6 strikeouts while Reyes had 2 for the game in her 2.1 innings of relief.The Bears put up 8 more runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning with Eliza Torres, Earl, Rangsiyawong, Centeno, Phoebe Sprangler, and Karisma Mendez helping Burroughs with a high-scoring home half of the 3rd. Reyes retired the side in order in both the top halves of the 4th and 5th innings to keep Golden Valley at 2 runs.“I thought the girls did great in the win against Golden Valley, this last week we had rain and didn’t get to practice on the dirt given the circumstances since we had to go to the bat cade and go to the gym for practices,” said Bears coach Doug Nicol. Nicol praised Valentina Reyes for stepping up when Emerson Colbentz struggled and admitted that she would be a piece for the team for many years.Burroughs starts off the season 1-0 while Golden Valley drops to 0-1. Golden Valley will play Marshall on Friday, February 16th with the first pitch scheduled for 3:15 p.m. while Burroughs will host Mark Keppel on Thursday, February 15th at 3:30 p.m.