Bulldogs

BASEBALL Burbank 5, Glendale 1: A day after defeating Pasadena, the Nitros dropped a Pacific League home contest Wednesday afternoon. Senior Rafael Ruiz knocked in the lone run for the Nitros (4-8, 2-6) in the seventh with a bases-loaded grounder to short. Pitcher Dillion Howard (0-1) picked up the tough-luck defeat, allowing three unearned runs over four innings before being replaced by sophomore Brandon Keene, who surrendered two runs in three innings of work.

BURBANK - Prior to Crescenta Valley High boys' tennis team meeting Burbank in a Pacific League match for the second time in less than a week, Burbank Coach Loi Phan predicted Tuesday's contest would be close again. Crescenta Valley and Burbank backed up Phan's statement, as Burbank earned an 11-7 home victory. "I just told both teams during the introductions that it would be that way," said Phan, who saw Crescenta Valley best Burbank, 9-9(79-70), on Thursday at Crescenta Valley.

PASADENA - The Pasadena High football team knew it could score on Crescenta Valley in Friday's Pacific League game, and the Falcons knew that they would have fits against the Bulldog offense. The only question was whether the Bulldogs - who allowed more than 40 points in each of their previous two league contests - could stop the Falcons enough times to win. Pasadena proved it could stop Crescenta Valley when it needed to. The Bulldogs shut down the Falcon offense for the majority of the second half and exploded for 33 unanswered points in the process en route to 53-42 home win. Crescenta Valley's second-team offense scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes to make the score respectable.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — It turned out to be a win-win for the girls' tennis teams from both Flintridge Prep and Burbank on Friday, as the Rebels loaded up on confidence and the Bulldogs played for experience. Prep was clicking on all cylinders as it rolled through Burbank, 14-4, at Scholl Canyon Park. Singles play continued to be a strength for the Rebels, as their top two singles players, juniors Kira Lee and Jenise Vargas, won all their sets. Lee was close to perfect, as she didn't surrender a single set, winning them all, 6-0. "It felt really nice to go out there and do really well today," Lee said.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — A year ago, the Pasadena High football team defeated Hoover because it was too fast and when it got to the outside, the Tornadoes couldn't catch the Bulldogs. Not much changed this season. The Bulldogs rushed for 212 yards and limited the Tornadoes to 71 total yards through three quarters in a 41-7 Pacific League victory Friday at Moyse Field. "Their speed was too much for us," Tornado Coach Chris Long conceded. Pasadena's speed made a difference on offense and defense.

PASADENA - Coming within a point of a tie late in the opening half, the Hoover High football team appeared ready to perhaps seize its first win of the season, or at least come close to it, against host Pasadena. But the inspired play by the Tornadoes seemingly jolted the Bulldogs, who then answered with four consecutive touchdowns to take a 49-19 Pacific League victory Thursday night. Hoover (0-8, 0-5) remained winless, while Pasadena (5-3, 4-1) won its fourth straight game.

BURBANK — With each strikeout recorded by Crescenta Valley High pitcher Kyle Murray, each Burbank batter walked slowly back to the dugout frustrated. It became a common occurrence in what turned out to be a career day for Murray. Murray struck out 15 and hit a solo home run for good measure Tuesday to help lift visiting Crescenta Valley to a 3-1 Pacific League win against Burbank. Murray, a senior right-hander, got stronger as the game quickly moved along on a warm afternoon.

BURBANK - A strong effort put forth by Crescenta Valley High in the second half of Friday night's Pacific League girls' basketball contest against Burbank fell short, as the Bulldogs came out on top, 41-34. Burbank sisters Damarie and Jamie Gonzalez helped hold off the Falcons, combining for 21 points. Damarie, a senior, finished with 12 points and three assists, while Jamie scored 11 and was credited with two assists. Courtney Seidler finished with 10 points and dominated on the glass, pulling down a game-high eight boards for the Bulldogs (9-7, 3-0 in league)

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes in college. Ayana Sumiyasu (Flintridge Prep, 2007) senior goalkeeper, Yale University soccer: The former All-Area and All-Prep League pick completed her collegiate career in style. Sumiyasu earned All-Ivy League first-team accolades after she started 16 matches and registered a 1.16 goals against average. She finished with an .811 save percentage and recorded a pair of shutouts. Sumiyasu went 7-7-1 in net and stopped 77 shots.

GLENDALE - Thanks to some clutch two-out hitting, the Crescenta Valley High baseball team provided another example of why it is among the top squads in the Pacific League. The Falcons displayed that trait Friday night during a league home contest against Pasadena at Stengel Field. Crescenta Valley scored five runs with two outs in the second inning en route to a key 7-3 victory. The Falcons remain atop the league with Burbank with two games remaining for each team. “Those are the kind of things you need to do in order to be successful,” said left fielder Michael Russo, who finished with three runs batted in to help the Falcons complete a two-game season series sweep of the Bulldogs.

GLENDALE - To have a realistic chance to win the Pacific League championship, the Crescenta Valley High baseball team had to defeat Burbank on Tuesday at Stengel Field. Fortunately for the Falcons, they had Brian Gadsby on the mound, the same pitcher who baffled the Bulldogs with a shutout earlier this season. Gadsby was not as dominant in his second outing against Burbank, but he was surely effective, tossing another complete game and receiving timely hitting from Austin Brines to notch a 4-1 victory that created a four-way tie for first place in league.

PASADENA - Looking not only to bounce back from a disheartening loss, but also needing a victory to stay on pace with the Pacific League frontrunners, Crescenta Valley High's baseball team gave the ball to sophomore pitcher Brian Gadsby and the right-hander responded with dominance. Propelled by a Gadsby shutout and buoyed by a four-run fourth inning, the Falcons defeated host Pasadena, 7-0, on Friday afternoon in a key Pacific League tilt. PHOTOS: Crescenta Valley vs. Pasadena baseball “It was a really big game,” said Gadsby, who struck out seven to no walks in seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits.

BURBANK - The last time the Burbank High and Crescenta Valley boys' volleyball teams played in a Pacific League contest, the Falcons struggled and the Bulldogs were able to come away with a relatively easy three-game sweep. Although Crescenta Valley played better in the early going in Wednesday's second meeting between the teams, Burbank captured the first two games and another sweep looked like a definite possibility. PHOTOS: Burbank vs. Crescenta Valley boys' volleyball But the Falcons didn't wilt under the pressure, coming back to win the third game and were one point away from forcing a winner-take-all fifth game after taking control in the fourth.

GLENDALE - With playoff implications still in play, the Hoover High and Burbank boys' tennis teams played like there was a lot at stake in their Pacific League match Tuesday. After each side notched a set in singles late in the contest, the match ended in a tie, prompting the always anticipated counting of games to decide the winner. Ultimately, it was Tornadoes Coach Julie Hoppe breathing a sigh of relief as her squad won two more games than the Bulldogs to prevail and win the match, 9-9 (76-74)

GLENDALE - The Burbank High boys' basketball team used high energy defense on one end and was paced by the long ball on the other to clinch fourth place in the Pacific League and a playoff berth, while eliminating Tuesday night's opponent, Hoover, from an automatic bid. The Bulldogs made seven three-pointers and held the host Tornadoes without a field goal in the fourth quarter en route to the 60-41 victory - the team's largest road victory of...

BURBANK - Emblematic of the dominance put forth through its undefeated Pacific League run, the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team wasted no time in flexing its might at the onset of the Pacific League Tournament. The Falcons, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division V, ran off 10 first-quarter goals, converting on 10 of 11 shots and allowing just one shot in return as they never looked back in a 17-4 throttling of Pasadena in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday at Burbank High.

BURBANK - Crescenta Valley High suffered a last-second overtime loss at home to Muir on Friday, forcing it to share the top spot in Pacific League boys' basketball with 10-time defending champion Pasadena. As of Monday, the memories of that loss still lingered for the Falcons. “We still got the sting from Friday night and that Muir loss,” Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian said. “So we really emphasized to our guys that, you know, if you have any ill feelings or are upset about Friday night you've got to kind of let it go and move on to play with a lot of energy and aggression and I think our guys did that tonight.” The Falcons did move on and protected their place on the perch atop the Pacific League leader board by going on the road and blowing out fourth-place Burbank, 60-37.

LA CRESCENTA - Lisa Kang showed some grit to help keep the Crescenta Valley High girls' soccer team atop the Pacific League. Kang went to the net twice and was rewarded each time during a Pacific League match against visiting Burbank on Monday. “You are told to go to the net and anything can happen,” said Kang, a junior forward who scored a pair of second-half goals to lead Crescenta Valley to a 3-1 victory. “You have to be ready at all times. “The first goal hit off my nose and the second off my head.