Burroughs Takes Easier Route : Indians Rebound From Marathon Win to Dispatch Millikan, 5-3

Last week, it took the Burroughs High softball team 24 innings to score a run and win its first-round game in the Southern Section 4-A Division playoffs.

Apparently, the Indians decided Tuesday they were not going to go through that again.

So they took only one big inning--a five-run second--to pick up all the runs they would need to beat Millikan, 5-3, in a second-round game at Olive Park in Burbank.

The win advances Burroughs, the second-place place team from the Foothill League, to the quarterfinals for the first time. The Indians play St. Joseph on Thursday at a site to be determined. St. Joseph defeated Santa Maria, 1-0, Tuesday in another second-round game.

“This is amazing,” first-year Burroughs Coach Dot Frankian said. “I knew we’d make it to the first round of the playoffs.

“I knew that at the beginning of the season, with Christy Alves pitching.

“I think the team has a lot of confidence in the pitching and that really helps them when they’re up at the plate.”

The Indians’ confidence in Alves (17-3) was justified against the Rams.

The senior right-hander, who had pitched all 24 innings of Burroughs’ last game, scattered five hits, struck out seven and walked one in again going the distance, albeit a much shorter distance this time.

“I wasn’t tired, not sore or anything,” Alves said. “I did pretty good. I wasn’t at my best, but it was good enough to win.”

Burroughs (22-5) was down, 1-0, after one inning, but in the second the Indians sent 10 batters to the plate and scored all of their runs on four hits, an error, two wild pitches and a stolen base.

Burroughs’ Kim Barnfather led off the second with a single to right. She advanced to second on a wild pitch, and, after Leigh Hacker reached on a walk, executed a double steal to put runners on second and third. Barnfather scored when Shelly Pape reached on an error.

Kim Lovetro hit a one-out bouncer up the middle to load the bases for Karin Knoop, who tripled to left to drive in three runs.

Knoop scored on Joanna Carr’s infield hit for the Indians’ final run.

Jen Matheson walked, but Alves and Barnfather each struck out swinging to finally end the inning.

“That was a good inning. I was glad we did that, because it really helped,” Alves said. “But lately, it seems like we’ve been hitting really good, and if it wasn’t that inning, it would have been another.”

Actually, it might not have been.

Starting and losing pitcher Tracy Smith (11-6) was relieved by Michele Shanks after Knoop’s triple in the second.

And after giving up the infield single to Carr, Shanks held the Indians hitless the rest of the way.

Shanks, the brightest spot for the Rams, struck out six consecutive batters in one stretch and finished with nine strikeouts in 4 innings.

Millikan, the Moore League champion, finished 17-11.