The Signal : Saturday, April 13, 2002 : Grant Gordon

Canyon’s dozen downs Bulldogs

One might say it was all Canyon all the time Friday afternoon as the Foothill League’s first-place team pounded the league’s last-place team, Burbank, 12-0.

The win completed a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs in league play and ended a week in which the Cowboys outscored their canine counterparts, 25-0, the teams two meetings.

“We pretty much expect to win every game, that’s not cocky it’s just confident,” Canyon starter Sergio Almanzar said. “If we score ten or more we’re not gonna lose.”

Canyon dominated play in every facet of the game.

“Well, we got thirteen hits, I’m happy with that,” Canyon coach Adam Schulhofer said. “We swung the bats.”

They outhit Burbank by a margin of 10, they ran circles around the bases, they fielded well while the Bulldogs left something to be desired and Almanzar pitched a gem for the Cowboys.

“There’s always little things to work on, but we did everything right more often than not,” Canyon shortstop Ryan Burke said.

Almanzar went five innings, giving up two hits in the first inning before holding the Bulldogs hitless the next four. Still, Almanzar didn’t find his performance all that dominating.

“I wasn’t really locating everything I wanted to,” said Almanzar, who struck out five. “I’d still rather come out and K twelve or thirteen guys.”

Almanzar more than helped his cause by scoring twice and knocking in three runs.

Burke paved the way offensively for the Cowboys, going 3-for-3 with a walk as he scored four runs and knocked one in.

“When we’re playing them, it’s just go out there and take your hacks,” Burke said.

Burke was by no means the only Cowboy murdering the Bulldog pitching and hassling the Burbank fielders.

Canyon went up 1-0 in the bottom of the second when Burke, who had singled and worked his way to third via a passed ball and a wild pitch, scored on a double-play ball by Josh Schreck.

Canyon opened up the floodgates in the third and once again in the fourth.

Kyle Zeiler led off the third with a stand-up double and scored when Almanzar beat out an errant throw to first.

Almanzar made the tally 3-0 when he scored on Burke’s single.

Eric Ashbrook, who walked to reach base, and Burke charged home on a Clay Britton double that he pulled to the right-field fence.

Up 5-0, Britton scored on a Schreck single to left to finish the third’s scoring with a 6-0 tally.

The first five Cowboy batters reached base in the fourth as Zeiler doubled again and Ryan Pipho walked. Zeiler stole home on a double steal just before Almanzar singled to score Pipho. Ashbrook walloped a monstrous dinger to deep center and Burke walked.

Burke was the last Cowboy to score in the inning as he came across on a Cody Leavitt fielder’s choice that made it 11-0.

Burke scored Canyon’s final run of the game in the sixth when he trotted home on a groundout by Schreck.

“It’s a momentum thing,” Schulhofer said. “The rest of the way we gotta keep that feeling of playing good baseball.”