Bats

GLENDALE — Freddy Sanchez couldn't have scripted a better World Series debut. Playing on the biggest stage of his nine-year Major League Baseball career, the former Glendale Community College and Burbank High star kicked things off in record-breaking fashion. Sanchez came through with four hits, including three doubles, to lead the San Francisco Giants to an 11-7 victory against the visiting Texas Rangers on Wednesday night in the first game of the World Series. He finished the night as Fox's Player of the Game after going four for five with three runs batted in and two runs scored.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players. Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) second baseman, San Francisco Giants: The Giants have tried several things recently to take some pressure off Sanchez, who is currently mired in a prolonged hitting slump. Sanchez was dropped from his customary No. 2 spot in the batting order all the way down to seventh on Sunday, when he went one for four in a 6-3 road loss to the Atlanta Braves, and he was left out of the starting lineup altogether for the first two games of a four-game set with the visiting Chicago Cubs on Monday and Tuesday, although he did appear as a pinch hitter in both.

During her first two seasons at Crescenta Valley High, particularly her sophomore campaign, Erin Ashby became a standout contributor at the plate and in the infield for the Falcons. With a bona fide all-star cast surrounding her during her freshman and sophomore years, Ashby became one of many Falcons putting up gaudy numbers at the plate and earning herself a Division I scholarship. But as the 2010 season rolled around, Ashby stepped to the forefront for the Falcons, taking on not just a leadership role, but having to maintain her status as one of the team's and area's best hitters, all the while taking on pitching duties.

PASADENA — The early innings of Thursday's 2010 Southern California Palomino League Regional Tournament pool-play game had to be frustrating for the Arroyo Seco Saints. The squad, which features several current and former players from St. Francis High and is coached by Golden Knights assistant Aaron Milam, was spinning its wheels offensively through the first five frames at Jackie Robinson Field and doing little to support the solid effort of starting pitcher Ryan Brockett against the SoCal Rangers.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players. Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) San Francisco Giants infielder: Sanchez, a three-time National League All-Star selection, continues to excel with the bat and glove since joining the team May 19 after beginning the season on the disabled list. On Wednesday, he helped San Francisco post a 6-3 victory against the visiting Baltimore Orioles. With San Francisco nursing a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning, Sanchez, a second baseman, made a nice play on defense to help keep the Giants ahead.

PASADENA — The bulk of the damage done to the St. Francis High baseball team by visiting Loyola’s lineup on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Field was mostly concentrated within two innings. But the Cubs’ five-run first inning and four-run fourth were more than enough to deny the Golden Knights a Mission League win they badly needed to keep pace with the race for the postseason. The tone was set for an afternoon of struggle for the Golden Knights when Loyola’s first five batters got hits against starting pitcher Joey Malham in the top of the first inning en route to an 11-5 defeat.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — There were times on Friday afternoon when the Hoover High baseball team’s pitching or defense gave Oakwood a chance to get back in the teams’ game at Hoover. But the Tornadoes bats rarely faltered and never failed to keep them on top right up until the end of a 12-9 nonleague win. “The kids hit the ball great today,” Hoover first-year Coach Joe Cotti said. “You’ve got to use the entire field and not try to yank everything out of the ballpark.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Riding a six-game winning streak and hitting the ball hard all over the field, the Crescenta Valley High baseball team is spending its spring break heating up. The Falcons bats were white hot over their final two offensive innings of Wednesday’s closing game of the 44th annual Babe Herman Tournament, pounding out 14 runs on nine hits in that span to bury Jesuit, 19-9, in what had been a close game through four-plus...

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Amid a slow start to the season, scoring some runs and taking an early lead over visiting Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy on Thursday certainly qualified as a breakthrough for the Glendale High softball team. Unfortunately for the Nitros, the nonleague affair was much more of a breakout day for the Tologs’ own recently quiet bats, which rapped out 13 hits in a 14-2 victory shortened to six innings by the mercy rule. Coming off two shutout losses to open the season and a 2-1 win over Flintridge Prep on Tuesday, Thursday’s output may be a sign the Tologs are gaining confidence at the plate.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Holding a two-run lead in the bottom of the third inning with the bases loaded and no outs, everything appeared headed in the right direction for the host Glendale Community College baseball team. Surprisingly enough, it was the beginning of a drastic change in momentum that led to visiting Citrus College defeating Glendale, 8-6, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in a Western State Conference tilt at Stengel Field. “The momentum just switched sides,” said Glendale third baseman and Hoover High graduate Sako Chapjian, who went two for four with a home run and two runs scored.