The Burroughs Indians (11-8) made their last trip to Birmingham High School, ready to square off against the Sylmar Spartans (17-10). This would be the fourth and final game of the year for the Indians in the
Valley Classic. A win against Sylmar would place Burroughs in a position to be co-champions of the tournament.
On the mound for Burroughs was
Jade Terry, nursing an injured wrist, with
Katie Block behind the plate. In the top of the 1st inning Burroughs saw the first batter ground out and the second batter fly out to center field. Terry singled to reach first base;
Casey Reichelderfer was brought in as a courtesy runner and was caught stealing second for the final out of the inning. Sylmar started off the bottom half of the inning with Terry walking the lead off batter. Two singles and another walk later, Sylmar had scored two runs. Burroughs was unable to respond in the 2nd inning as they went down in order. Sylmar scored another run on a double, a wild pitch, and a passed ball. Behind 3-0, Burroughs pushed across one run using six batters (on one hit) in the 3rd inning. Terry struggled in the bottom part of the inning as Sylmar sent six batters to the plate. However, the Burroughs defense prevented the Spartans from scoring. Unable to capitalize on the previous inning's performance, the Indians went down in order during the 4th inning. Terry's pitching came on strong during the inning as she forced all three Sylmar batters to ground out. Budrick opened up the 5th inning by hitting a double.
Liz Hanna sacrificed Budrick over to third base and
Kerry Hodgins singled Block home for the RBI. With the score 3-2, the Burroughs defense held Sylmar scoreless. In the 6th inning, the Indians struggled offensively as the first two batters went down in order.
Bri Casillas singled to reach first base but was then stranded as the next batter popped out to the pitcher. The Spartans put the final nail in the Burroughs coffin as they sent seven batters to face Terry, adding one more run to their score. The 7th inning saw the Indians go down in order and hand the victory to Sylmar 4-2.
Burroughs (11-9) returns to Pacific League play next week as they face Hoover High School (5-12).