Valentina Clemons’ complete game shutout & Karlee Earl’s inside the park home run in the top of the sixth inning propelled them to a convincing victory over the Bulldogs 

In a contest that featured two cross-town rivals, the John Burroughs Bears put together an offensive and pitching display in their 11-0 win over the Burbank Bulldogs.  Clemons pitched a complete game shutout with four strikeouts and Karlee Earl hit an inside-the-park home run in the top of the sixth inning for the Bears. . On the other hand, Maddison Kellogg struck out 11 batters while allowing all 11 runs in the loss for the Bulldogs. Entering the Wednesday night showdown, Burroughs went 3-1 in the Best of the West Tournament, and Burbank mercy ruled Glendale 13-1 back on Monday. 

Before the first pitch, the Burbank Bulldogs paid tribute to their eight graduating softball seniors in a pregame ceremony. Those eight seniors are Maddison Kellogg (Cal Baptist Commit/Bulldogs superstar pitching ace/team captain), Utility player and team captain, Samantha Cafferty, first baseman and team captain, Charley Barnett, outfielders Krystal Balderas, Shania Galindo, and Sophia Solorzano along with utility players Olivia (Oli) Orozco and Cristal Quinonez. “Senior night was one to remember and I’m forever thankful to our team moms for making it so special,” said Bulldogs softball captain Charley Barnett. Barnett mentioned she had a good time playing against her friends, Alyssa Morales and Karlee Earl, when asked about playing in her final Burbank-Burroughs softball game. 

On the softball field, Kellogg got off to a great start by retiring the first two batters of the game by striking out Morales and getting Earl on a pop-up. Chloe Centeno reached first base on an error charged to Samantha Cafferty. Centeno then stole second base and reached third base on an error by Kassie Kimmer. Centeno scored the game’s first run on a wild pitch by Maddison Kellogg. Following two-out walks to Sophie Rangsiyawong, Kalani Miramontes, and Haven Vickers, Kellogg finally got out of the bases-loaded mess by getting Chloe Zavala on a flyout to the left fielder, Priscilla Sanchez. 

The Bulldogs’ bottom half of the first inning saw a one-out rally started by Charley Barnett, who reached base on an error charged to second baseman Karisma Mendez, and then Samantha Cafferty reached base on a walk. Maddison Kellogg added to the one-out rally by recording a single to load the bases for Kayla McPherson. The Bulldogs left the bases loaded to end the bottom of the first inning, as Cafferty and Barnett were picked off. Cafferty was tagged out at third base, and Barnett was out at second base to complete the double play. 

Burroughs added a run in the top of the second inning with Karlee Earl driving home pinch runner Claire Simons to give the Bears a 2-0 lead. Clemons then responded with a much better bottom of the second inning by retiring the side in order. Although both teams were held scoreless in the third inning,  Centeno  drove home Alyssa Morales on an RBI single to give Burroughs a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs had another scoring opportunity that was again wasted in the home half of the fourth inning with Updike falling to drive home Priscilla Sanchez. 

Haven Vickers started off the fifth inning with a triple and then scored on an RBI single by Ali Cortez to give the Bears a 4-0 lead over the Bulldogs. Burroughs then added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, which started with a Karlee Earl inside-the-park home run and  a two-out RBI double by Haven Vickers. Chloe Zavala then reached base on a two-out walk but scored on an error charged to catcher Kassie Kimmer. The Bears put the game away at the top of the seventh inning with Centeno driving home pinch runner Neyla Cervantes with an RBI triple. Centeno came in to score on an RBI sacrifice fly by Sophie Rangsiyawong. Kalani Miramontes then reached base by getting hit by a pitch, then advanced to second, third, and home plate to put the game away for the Bears with an 11-0 lead. Clemons retired the side in order to end the game for the Bears. 

“This win over Burbank meant a lot to me because of how much this victory meant to the girls, and we had a great practice the day before,” said Doug Nicol. Nicol also praised  Clemons for stepping up in the pitchers circle, with an injured Valentina Reyes. 

“We needed to get the little plays correct, and it was never executed,” said Javier Rojas. Rojas admitted that he loved everything about senior night, but also mentioned that this was his first time coaching in a Burbank-Burroughs softball game.

Burroughs improves to 20-5 overall and 7-0 in Pacific League play, and Burbank falls to 8-12-1 overall and 4-3 in Pacific League play. Burroughs has clinched a first-round bye in the second annual Pacific League Tournament and will play next Tuesday at Arcadia High School with an opponent to be determined later. Burbank will take on Arcadia at Glendale High School in the opening round of the tournament on Saturday, May 3rd at 3:00 p.m.