Burroughs Baseball Shuts Out Muir 6-0 Behind Whittekiend

Devin Whittekiend put together one of the more complete individual performances of the Pacific League season Tuesday night, throwing a seven-inning shutout and driving in four runs as the John Burroughs High baseball team beat visiting Muir 6-0 at home.

The senior right-hander struck out 12 batters, allowed two hits, and hit one batter across the complete game. He also went 3-for-3 at the plate with a three-run home run in the fourth inning and two singles, one of which plated a run.

The Bears improved to 9-2 overall and 5-0 in Pacific League play with the win. Muir dropped to 3-6 and 0-6 in league.

Whittekiend set the tone early. He retired the first 14 batters he faced, working through a 1-2-3 first inning with a strikeout, a perfect second inning with two more strikeouts, and a perfect third and fourth inning before Muir finally made contact. Sergio Rodriguez reached on a two-out single in the fifth. Whittekiend answered by striking out Noah Hunziker looking to end the threat.

The only other baserunner Whittekiend allowed came in the sixth, when Khalil Rishwain singled with one out. Whittekiend got Eduardo Sosa on a foul ball to third and induced Gianluca Cano to fly out to center to close the inning.

Burroughs opened the scoring in the first inning when seven batters came to the plate. Junior Slater Mersola reached on an infield single, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a run-scoring single to left-center from Whittekiend. Whittekiend himself scored later in the frame to make it 2-0.

The Bears added a third run in the third. Whittekiend led off with a single to center, stole second, and moved to third on a single to right from junior Jake Rauenswinder. He scored on the throw to put Burroughs up 3-0.

Any remaining suspense ended in the fourth. Junior Elliot Ross opened the inning with a single to left, and Mersola drew a walk. Whittekiend stepped in and drove a fastball over the left-field fence for a three-run homer, pushing the lead to 6-0.

From there, Whittekiend closed it out methodically. His strikeout total included batters going down looking and swinging in roughly equal measure throughout the game. Brandon Figueroa whiffed looking in the third and again swinging in the sixth. Will Rodriguez struck out swinging in the second and looking in the seventh. Rishwain and Cano both fanned in the fourth. Ezekiel Rodriguez went down looking in the fifth.

Senior Thomas Martin singled to center in the fourth for Burroughs, and senior Zack Guevara opened the fifth with a single to center before being erased on a force out. The offense otherwise stayed quiet after the fourth inning, but by then the outcome had been settled.

The Bears have now won five consecutive league games and sit alone atop the Pacific League standings through the first third of league play. A pitching performance like Tuesday’s will factor into seeding conversations as the postseason approaches, and Whittekiend has positioned himself as one of the more effective arms in the league heading into the back half of the schedule.

For Muir, the 0-6 league start leaves little margin for error. The Mustangs managed only two hits and never had a runner reach scoring position against Whittekiend.

Burroughs continues league play next week.