Hamlet Nalbandyan
Much to the displeasure of those who were hoping for a quick one
at Montrose Park on Friday, the Burbank Major Baseball All-Star team
avoided the mercy rule in its second-chance bracket game against
Vaquero.
Down by 11 runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, the 11-
and 12-year-olds staved off elimination for at least another inning,
thanks to a two-run home run by Austin Holgate.
But all that did was delay the inevitable, because there would be
no stopping Vaquero on this day.
Jim De La Torre's squad collected 12 hits and benefited from eight
errors to post a 12-5 victory.
Vaquero (1-1) will face Jewel City at 9 a.m. today at Montrose
Park in another second-chance bracket contest.
Danny Abrahamian was one of many Vaquero players to shine. The
12-year-old threw a complete game to earn the win and went four for
five with a double and two runs.
"We had great hitting today," said De La Torre, whose squad had
five extra-base hits. "And in addition to our hitting, we played
solid defense and really stayed behind our pitcher.
"It's a nice win for the kids."
Vaquero blew open the game in the middle innings, with three runs
in the third, four in the fourth, and three more in the fifth.
What made the outburst so hard to swallow for Burbank was the fact
that Vaquero had only one hit each in the third and fifth innings.
Burbank committed one error in the third, another in the fourth
and four more in the fifth.
Of the 12 runs scored by Vaquero, seven were unearned.
Burbank's only positive note was the fifth inning. It collected
four hits -- up to that point, Abrahamian was pitching a one-hitter
-- and scored four runs, all earned.
In addition to the home run, Troy Birtell had a run-scoring double
as well in the inning.
