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Sports

Softball: Ashby's Heroics Lift Falcons Past Burroughs

Crescenta Valley's 5-2 win creates first place tie in Pacific League.

Erin Ashby and the Crescenta Valley Falcons got their revenge against the Burroughs Indians in the most bizarre way.

With the score tied at two in the bottom of the sixth and Kelly Bako standing at second after a leadoff double, Burroughs decided to not take a chance with Ashby and attempted to intentionally put her on first base.

With the catcher in position to take the first intentional walk pitch, Ashby instead took the high fastball and drilled it to right-centerfield. Bako rounded third to score, while Ashby remained at second, as she and Berry exchanged high fives across the diamond. The Falcons went on to top Burroughs 5-2 Tuesday afternoon to avenge their lone defeat in Pacific League play and tie the Indians atop the league standings.

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“When Ashby knows she sees a green light, she will take it,” Falcons coach Dan Berry said. “That is a perfect example of what an All-State player’s mentality is.”

“After our only miscue in the game, our girls played well beyond their potential,” Berry added. “Any time you play against somebody for first place, it’s the little things that get you the victory.”

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That was definitely the case with Ashby’s big hit.

“I have to do everything I can to get that runner as close to home as possible,” Ashby said. “Obviously in an intentional walk, you just have to be ready for that pitch to be missed in, and that’s exactly what happened and it worked out perfectly.”

In the circle as well, Ashby did her job, allowing seven hits and striking out five batters.

This game for Crescenta Valley was a major difference from the last time these two faced each other when Burroughs prevailed 8-2. The Falcons committed four errors, which led to three unearned runs and brought an early end to Ashby’s day. This time around, they held their ground and played crisp softball.

“In this game we had to be mentally prepared,” Ashby said. “When we make an error, we couldn’t let it affect us. Last game we were very off, so we just needed to take things one out at a time and focus on what we needed to get done.”

After Bako hit a single in the third inning, Ashby belted one out of the park, giving the Falcons the early 2-0 edge. The Falcons then loaded the bases with their next three batters. But Jessica Morena and Cecelia Martinez could not bring those runners in, as Heather Haynes and the Indians escaped further damage.

The Indians retaliated in the fourth. Shannon Trujillo led off the inning with a double, and later scored when Taylor Buliavac on the next pitch hit one to center. She then tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Haley Schulman.

The Indians’ chance for a league title hung in the balance during the sixth inning. After Sidney Ortega led the inning off with a single, Trujillo got on with a double, giving Ortega a chance to score. Hannah Cookson gunned the ball from left field to Bako at the plate, putting Ortega in a pickle. After a few tosses from third to home, she was tagged out at the plate. Ashby then got a ground out to end the inning with runners stranded at second and third.

Ashby ended the game at the plate 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Bako was 2-for-3.

The win for the Falcons (17-3, 9-1) puts them at a tie for first in the Pacific League with Burroughs (15-7, 9-1) with four league games left on the schedule. After that is the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.

“This game gets everyone’s mindset to stay on track,” Ashby said. “It tells us that we are capable of what we need to accomplish. Our defensive stand in each inning shows us that we can play at our best.”

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