The Bears’ eight-run bottom of the fourth inning propelled them to a convincing victory 

The John Burroughs Bears showed why they are still in contention to win the Pacific League title by coming away with a convincing 8-3 victory over the Crescenta Valley Falcons on Tuesday afternoon. The win places Burroughs and CV into a tie in second place behind 9-0 Arcadia. The Bears scored all eight of their runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after being held scoreless for the first three innings of play. Over the weekend, Burroughs came off a 6-1 loss to Shadow Hills while CV came off a 5-2 win over Valencia. 

Devin Whittekiend began the night by working around two walks in the top of the first inning by getting Jacob Mucic on a fly out to the right fielder, Andrew Cosio. The Bears were then retired in order in the home half of the first inning. Both teams were held scoreless for the next two innings until the Bears put on an offensive explosion in the home half of the fourth inning. 

To start the bottom of the fourth inning, Andrew Cosio recorded a leadoff single. Whittekiend drove home Cosio from first base with an RBI double. Jack Smith and Slater Mersola both reached base next. Smith was hit by a pitch, and Mersola then hit a drag bunt single to load the bases for Thomas Martin.  Martin and Jake Rauenswinder made the most of their opportunities and drove in back-to-back RBIs. Martin scored pinch runner Zach Byras from third when he was also hit by a pitch, and Rauenswinder brought home Jack Smith on an RBI walk. Logan Drossin and Zach Guverra also recorded RBIs, and then Cosio came back to the plate and drove in a run to help with the scoring outburst. Devin Whittekiend had two RBI in the inning as well. 

When everyone thought the Bears were on their way to a mercy ruling, Crescenta Valley fought back. Gunnar Herman, Charlie Carafotes, and Chris Torres drove home three runs to end Burroughs’s shutout hopes. Both teams were again held scoreless in the next three innings as Kenny Montgomery recorded a three-inning save to seal the 8-3 victory over CV. 

“We executed our game plan very well, the first three innings were rough,” said Matt Magallon. Magallon also added that offensively, “we found ways to keep the ball in play and have collective hitting in the lineup.” 

“Devin Whittekiend and Kenny Montgomery did a great job on the mound in the win for Burroughs, and they outpitched us,” said Phill Torres. Torres admitted that the Falcons did not do enough offensively to get back in the game, which made it difficult considering the hole that they found themselves in. 

Burroughs is now tied for second place in the Pacific League by improving their mark to 18-4 overall and 8-1 in Pacific League play, and Crescenta Valley drops to 17-4 overall and 8-1 in Pacific League play. The Falcons will host the Bears when they play game two of the series on Friday night at Stengel Field at 6:00 p.m. A lot will be on the line for both teams.