Arcadia Falls to Third Place After Loss to Burroughs

Miraglia struck out six.

Story and Photos
by Christian Romo

The Apaches needed a win for a shot at an outright Pacific League title, but a loss to the Indians has them hoping for a split decision with one game left in the regular season.

Getting three of their five hits from centerfielder Kaitlyn Escamilla, the Burroughs Indians (18-8, 11-2 Pacific) retained a share of first place in the Pacific League with a 3-0 win over the visiting Arcadia Apaches (16-5, 10-3). Escamilla drove the Indian offense from the ninth slot, putting her team up 3-0 with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

Escamilla watches a pitch go by.

“I’ve been working hard on my hitting,” said Escamilla, “so it was good that it worked out in a game that counted.” The sophomore’s sixth inning RBI justified Burroughs coach Wesley Tanigawa’s experiment with the bottom of his lineup. “I know the majority of the time [Escamilla] gets on base,” said Tanigawa, “so if I can get her with someone on, then I’m moving base-runners around.”

Apache senior Jannelle Ha pitched four scoreless innings, but fielding errors in the fifth and sixth loaded the bases and overwhelmed Arcadia’s defense. “We had the most errors, the most strikeouts looking, and the most walks in one game the whole season,” said Arcadia coach Richard Klumpp. Ha escaped a bases-loaded one-out situation in the third inning and came close to escaping another in the fifth, but a two-out error allowed Indians senior Amanda Flores to break the scoreless tie. “I think [Ha] did a great job pitching, but the defense has to be there for her, too,” said Klumpp. “Once one breaks down, the other breaks down. It’s like a domino effect.”

Ha added a double in the fourth inning.

Presley Miraglia pitched her league-leading ninth shutout of the season for the Indians, striking out six batters in seven innings. “The first game we played them, I was learning what their weaknesses and strengths were,” said Miraglia, “and this time I tried to get them out on my pitch, not theirs.” The Arcadia offense, which had a combined .375 batting average entering the game, managed only two hits in their 21 at-bats against Miraglia. “It was mainly the seniors that encouraged us more,” said the junior pitcher, “I was just following the seniors.”

Karly Gills fields a grounder.

With the win, the Indians will enter their final game at Burbank in a two-way tie for first place with Crescenta Valley. Though not eliminated from title contention, the Apaches will need a win against CV in their final game Thursday afternoon and a loss from Burroughs for a three-way title split, and their first since 2007. Though he thinks the team can improve, Klumpp believes they will succeed with their best assets: “Heart, chemistry, just the way they all get along. They play for each other, not for themselves.”

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