Burroughs Softball Falls 2-1 to Crescenta Valley in Walk-Off

Burroughs High softball dropped a tough 2-1 decision to Crescenta Valley on Thursday, losing on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning after battling the Falcons to a standoff through most of the game.

The Bears fell to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in Pacific League play. Crescenta Valley improved to 6-4 and moved to 2-0 in league.

Both programs entered the matchup among the top tier of the Pacific League, and the game lived up to that billing. On an unseasonably warm afternoon in La Crescenta, two skilled pitchers dominated hitters for most of seven innings, and the margin between winning and losing came down to a pair of batters who found a way to get the job done with two outs in the final frame.

Burroughs junior Valentina Reyes started the seventh needing just three outs to force extras, and she got two of them quickly, retiring freshman Scarlett Palmstrom and sophomore Camilia Hernandez on fly balls to right field. Then freshman Lacey Lhymn drilled a hard shot that deflected off the third baseman’s glove and trickled into left field. Junior Jolene Butler followed with a base hit to right, sending Lhymn to third. Senior Reese Fontanilla ended it with a sharp single to right field that scored Lhymn.

Over seven innings, Reyes allowed six hits, surrendered two runs, and struck out four. She kept Crescenta Valley off the board long enough that the Bears had a real shot at walking away with a win.

Crescenta Valley junior Chloe Mulcahey was just as stingy on the other side of the ball. The right-hander finished with four strikeouts, three hits allowed, and one hit batter across seven complete innings. She retired seven straight batters twice during the game, keeping Burroughs from building anything resembling momentum.

Mulcahey also contributed offensively. In the first inning, junior Addison Wong drew a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Kate Barnes. Wong advanced to third on a stolen base, and Mulcahey drove her home with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

Burroughs answered in the second. Sophomore Kalani Miramontes led off with a single to center, and junior Chloe Zavala reached on a force out. Sophomore Haven Vickers then lashed a base hit to right, moving Zavala to third. Junior Ali Cortez tied it with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Zavala and knotted the game at 1-1, where it stayed until Crescenta Valley pushed across the winner in the seventh.

The Bears had a chance to break the tie in the fifth. Vickers reached on an infield single with one out, but was erased when Cortez grounded into a force out, and the inning ended without damage.

Despite the loss, Burroughs head coach Doug Nicol didn’t walk away discouraged. “I am very proud of the way we played today. Two high quality teams playing excellent softball,” Nicol said, acknowledging the sequence that broke the tie. “They were able to string three hits together. That’s what it came down to.”

Nicol also pointed to something his team showed throughout the contest. “I liked our grit and fight. It was a 1-1 game to the last out of the game. They just executed in that last inning with two outs. However, we fought so hard and I am really proud of that.”

A one-run loss on the road against one of the stronger programs in the league won’t derail a Bears squad that has shown the ability to compete deep into games. Burroughs will need to keep that fight intact as Pacific League play heats up and the margin for error tightens.