Bulldogs defeat Hoover 15-0 in three innings, and drop 9-5 to Glendale 

The Burbank Bulldogs finished their season with a 1-2 record in the Pacific League Tournament following their final two games this week. The Bulldogs defeated Hoover 15-0 in three innings in the preliminary round, and then essentially saw their postseason hopes end after losing to Glendale 9-5. 

Hoover came into the preliminary contest coming off a 17-2 mercy rule defeat to cross-town rival Glendale Nitros, and Burbank suffered a shutout 6-0 to Muir. The last time the two teams met, the Bulldogs came out victorious with a 14-0 win over Hoover in four innings back on Thursday, April 3rd, a game which was called due to rain. 

In the Burbank-Hoover contest, Maddison Kellogg started the top of the first inning by striking out the side in order. The Bulldogs then exploded in the bottom of the inning with nine runs. Kellogg, Chloe Updike, Priscilla Sanchez, and Kassie Kimmer chipped in with the offense. Kellogg then continued with a one-two-three inning in the top of the second to keep Hoover hitless through two innings. 

The Bulldogs added four more runs on the board in the bottom of the second inning as Isabel Villagran, Kimmer, and Charley Barnett continued to pile on. Burbank led 13-0 through two innings. 

Kellogg continued her dominance in the pitcher’s circle by striking out the first two batters in the top of the third inning, but the no-hitter was broken up by back-to-back two-out singles by Kathleen De Leon and Natalie Menska Hannah Parker followed with a hit into the outfield, but Updike recorded an outfield assist by throwing out Menska at second base to end the top of the third. Priscilla Sanchez and Isabel Villagran hit back-to-back RBI doubles to seal the Bulldogs’ 15-0 win over Hoover. 

Heading into the Pacific League Tournament finale, the Burbank Bulldogs were facing a must-win game against the Glendale Nitros. Glendale also came off a 16-1 mercy rule win over Pasadena in the second round heading into the fifth-place contest. The last time the two teams faced off, Burbank came away with a 13-1 mercy rule win back on Monday, April 28th. 

Natalie Minkler got the scoring started for the Nitros as she drove home Brooke Aldrete to give the Nitros a 1-0 lead. Sienna Hale left pinch runner Sophie Quinteros stranded at first base by getting Carla Bedolla on a ground out to shortstop Samantha Cafferty to end the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs responded with a three-run bottom of the first inning with Chloe Updike, Priscilla Sanchez, and Isabel Villagran recording three straight RBIs to put Burbank up 3-1. Brooke Aldrete delivered for the Nitros with two outs in the top of the second inning with an RBI single to make it a one-run game.

The Nitros had a four-run top of the third inning to turn the game around. Pinch runner Sophie Quinteros scored on an error charged to Samantha Cafferty. Fritzy Martinez recorded an RBI double, and then Paola Marquez hit a two-run single to give Glendale a 6-3 lead. Updike cut into the lead when she hit a triple and came in to score on a fielding error by center fielder Rachel Francis. Glendale pushed Burbank’s playoff hopes to the brink by adding three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Natalie Minkler, Savannah Argueta, and Martinez all had RBIs to help the Nitros lead 9-4 after the top of the fourth inning. 

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Kassie Kimmer recorded a two-out RBI double to drive home Kellogg to make it back to a four-run game in hopes of an epic comeback. Charley Barnett failed to drive home Kimmer as she grounded out to shortstop Brooke Aldrete, to end the bottom of the sixth inning. Burbank had one more shot at keeping their playoff hopes alive in the bottom of the seventh inning. 

Samantha Cafferty started off the home half of the seventh inning with a leadoff single.  Updike, Sanchez, and Villagran failed to string together a late rally and bring Cafferty around to score.

Glendale takes home fifth place in the Pacific League Tournament, and Burbank falls to sixth place in the tournament. With this loss, the Bulldogs’ chances of making the playoffs all but ended. They will find out their fate when the CIF Southern Section playoff brackets are set. The brackets come out on Monday, May 12th, at noon.