Reloaded Hart Beats Burroughs

BURBANK —  The naysayers were loving life, whispering behind their hands and talking out of the sides of their mouths about the troubles the Hart High baseball team would have this season.

Too much talent had graduated. Too many returning players would be playing out of position. Not enough experience. Not enough power. Not enough to win the Foothill League for a fourth consecutive season.

Hart’s response? Cover the ears. And win.

Hart did it again Friday at Burroughs, disposing of the latest team trying to bust Hart’s stranglehold on the Foothill League.

Hart won with relative ease, 12-6, and reiterated that it is the team to beat.

Hart (12-0, 5-0 in league play) pounded 16 hits and showed enough intestinal fortitude to come back from a 5-4 deficit after four innings by scoring eight runs in the final three innings.

After the first round of league play, Hart has outscored five league rivals, 48-11.

“[Everybody] was saying all the seniors that graduated were the team,” said junior first baseman John Curtis. “I think they were wrong. I think we’re a good team.”

Curtis, who played on the junior varsity last season, hit two solo home runs and a double against Burroughs (6-4, 2-3).

Catcher Nic Enciso, who played behind Brandon Montemayor last season, had four hits, and Chris Gagnon continued his torrid pace with three hits and is batting .552.

Hart stranded 12 runners and left the bases loaded three times.

“Don’t think we’re feeling satisfied, because we’re not,” Coach Jim Ozella said.

“We’re going to stay motivated until the end of the season.”

Burroughs had an inspiring fourth inning and scored five runs, three on Kevin Habitz’s double.

But Burroughs was stymied by Hart the rest of the way, scoring one run in the fifth.

“Every time we’d put a little scare into them, they’d answer right back,” Burroughs Coach Jose Valle said.

“If you don’t play a complete game against them, it’s tough to compete with them.”

That’s what the rest of the Foothill League is realizing: Hart is still Hart.