Burlingame baseball shuts out Hillsdale; now alone atop Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division

After opening the week tied for first place with the King’s Academy-Sunnyvale in the PAL Bay standings, Burlingame, for the time being, takes sole possession of first. Burlingame and Hillsdale (2-6, 9-10) wrap up a two-game set Wednesday at Washington Park, the same day TKA opens a two-game series with Carlmont. TKA and Carlmont close their series Friday in Sunnyvale.

Backed by a one-hit shutout by starting pitcher Drew Gall, the Panthers lead wire to wire Monday. The senior left-hander threw just 76 pitches through the abbreviated five-inning format, allowing two walks while striking out seven. He took a no-hitter into the fourth before senior Hugo Guzman singled for Hillsdale’s only hit of the day.

Burlingame continued to flex its uncharacteristic power. The Panthers entered play last Friday at Sequoia with just one home run on the season. They hit two home runs against Sequoia in a 7-6 win, one that moved the Panthers into a first-place tie in the Bay Division. Monday, Burlingame hit two more homers, as senior Slade Flores went deep for the second straight game, and junior Mark O’Grady produced an inside-the-park home run for his first of the year.

The first four batters of the game reached base for the Panthers, who rallied for four runs in the top of the first. Grayson Howard led off with a walk and Gall singled on the infield. O’Grady then shot an RBI single to center. After a sacrifice fly by Flores made it 2-0, senior Jean-Luc Uharriet produced a two-run double to left.

In the second, Flores made it 6-0 with a two-run homer to center. Then O’Grady came up with two one and one out in the third, and outran a drive to center field for a three-run inside-the-park home run. Burlingame added one more in the fourth, when senior Mikey Intrieri led off with a double and later scored on an errant pickoff throw.

O’Grady went 3 for 4 with four RBIs to pace the Panthers, while senior Oscar Osuna Lopez added two hits.

With the win, Gall improves to 2-0 through five appearances, and has yet to allow a run in 12 innings pitched. The five-inning workload marks a career-high for the two-year varsity senior.