Indians Discover Unlikely Hero, 4-3

BURBANK — The game took so long even the scoreboard broke down.

With first place in the Foothill League on the line, Chris Santoyo lined a one-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Burroughs High a 4-3 victory over Saugus on Tuesday at Burroughs.

Saugus (12-9-1, 8-4 in league play) had won seven of eight games to pull within a game of Burroughs (15-7, 10-2), but the Indians now lead Hart by one game and Saugus by two with three to play.

The scoreboard was a ninth-inning victim of a blackout that struck the area, one of myriad unusual events.

Consider Santoyo, who replaced right fielder Danny Mariscal in the seventh inning and hadn’t had a hit all season--he was 0 for 14 before ending the game with two hits.

“I was trying not to feel the pressure too much,” Santoyo said. “I’d been hitting well, just not getting the hits.”

Saugus had a rally killed in the 10th when leadoff batter Brent Pellico, thinking he had walked, trotted to first base when the count was full. He was given a third strike for leaving the batter’s box.

Pellico, the Centurions’ leading hitter among regular players with a .426 average, struck out four times.

Saugus took the lead on a three-run home run by Kevin Giberson in the first inning off Tony Sandoval. Giberson had four hits.

Sandoval recovered to hold the Centurions to six hits over the next eight innings before being relieved by Wes Hutchison (8-2).

Burroughs began its comeback in the third when Saugus pitcher Kevin Bonilla walked Tommy Perez and Anthony Fabrizio, forcing in Gil Hernandez.

With two out in the fifth and Perez on second, Bonilla threw a fastball to Fabrizio, who hit it over the right-field fence for his ninth home run of the season, tying the score, 3-3.

“I was surprised he threw it after pitching around me before,” Fabrizio said. “I didn’t see any more fastballs.”

Bonilla allowed nine hits and struck out eight in 10 innings--the maximum for the week.

Justin Babin (3-3) entered for Saugus in the 11th, but the hard-throwing left-hander walked two, committed a balk and hit a batter before being replaced by Josh Underwood.

Underwood threw four pitches to Santoyo.