Burroughs Thrown a Curve and Ousted by Charter Oak, 3-1

The bats were silent and the Burroughs High baseball season quietly slipped away.

The team that defeated mighty Hart and came close on another occasion scored in the first inning but was frustrated the rest of the way in a 3-1 loss to Charter Oak in the second round of the Southern Section Division III playoffs Tuesday at Burroughs.

The team of the future--Burroughs starts three sophomores and a junior--became a part of the past because of pitcher Lance Escalera, who expertly mixed in his curveball and off-speed offerings to keep Burroughs off-kilter.

Escalera (5-2) struck out 11, scattered six hits and issued only one walk for Charter Oak (21-7), which won the Miramonte League.

“We didn’t come out and swing the bats like we usually do,” said catcher Mike Silva. “He wasn’t overpowering, but he hit his spots.”

Burroughs (16-12) scored on a two-out single by Jesse Perez in the first inning.

Charter Oak tied the score on a solo home run by Marco Manrique in the second and took the lead in the third on a sacrifice fly by Joey Hendricks.

Burroughs made one last stand in the seventh when Derek Walker delivered a two-out double. But Tim Murphy struck out for the fourth time.

“Offensively, we just didn’t take care of business,” said Coach Jose Valle of Burroughs. “I don’t think these guys were world-beaters. I think the pitcher just battled real well.”

Burroughs battled during the season, overcoming a poor nonleague performance to finish second in the Foothill League.

Burroughs defeated Hart in the final week of the season and had a chance to tie Hart for the league title in the regular-season finale but could not hold a fourth-inning lead.

“We have a lot coming back,” said Silva, a sophomore. “We’re going to learn and grow. It’s a positive.”

Charter Oak plays third-seeded Westlake in the quarterfinals Friday at a site to be determined.

“I hear a lot of great things about them,” said Coach Richard Escalera of Charter Oak. “They’ve got two fireball pitchers and they swing the bat extremely well. But it’s the playoffs. Anything can happen. We need to come out and compete.”

They did just that on Tuesday.