SAN JOSE – Capuchino ace Ryan Burton raised his right arm after hurling his final pitch, and then held both arms up in triumph as his defense got the final out of the CCS Division V baseball championship.
Burton allowed just three hits in a complete game, routinely using a slider that got Santa Cruz’s talented batters to popup and groundout in the San Bruno school’s 1-0 victory at Excite Ballpark.
After the Mustangs lost the title game to Hillsdale in 2023 at the home of the San Jose Giants minor league team, Capuchino’s players reveled in being on the other side this season.
“Oh my gosh, this feels great,” Burton said. “None of this would have been possible without my teammates. They made great plays out there, and the score would’ve been different if it hadn’t been for them.”
Santa Cruz junior Morgan Toohey went pitch for pitch with his Capuchino counterpart for the majority of the game, holding the “home” team to four hits. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Mustangs finally broke through.
Lucas Zayac and Burton led off the inning with singles, and then cleanup hitter Anakin Manuel drove in the winning run on a single dumped into right field.
“I was just telling myself to let the ball travel and get deep, and punch the ball the other way and make the defense work,” Manuel said.
The Mustang defense came up big in the final inning. Yulio Ceron handled a hard-hit ball to get the leadoff Santa Cruz runner out. Then centerfielder Nathan Balch made a diving catch in centerfield to get the second out.
“I have so much confidence in that guy,” Burton said when asked about Balch. “He’s the best center fielder I’ve played with in my life. Hands down.”
Capuchino, which improved to 19-10, will play in NorCal next.
“Every year, before the season starts, we make goals for ourselves,” Manuel said as a smile broke across his face. “The biggest goal is to win CCS, and that’s exactly what we did.”
