Senior Ryan Burton tossed a three-hit shutout to lead Capuchino to a 1-0 victory over Santa Cruz for the CCS Division 5 championship last Thursday afternoon at Excite Ballpark. Junior Anakin Manuel knocked in the only run in the game in the sixth with a single to score junior Lucas Zayac, who finished with two hits. Burton struck out only two but didn’t walk anybody and the Mustangs played flawless defense behind him to preserve the shutout.
Capuchino will travel to Piedmont for the first round of the NorCal Division 4 playoffs Tuesday afternoon. Santa Cruz finishes with a 14-14 record.
The Mustangs opened the CCS playoffs against another team from the SCCAL, defeating Soquel 8-1. Capuchino scored all of its runs in the first three innings as Burton and senior Joseph Trissitte knocked in two runs each. Burton allowed just an unearned run, scattering seven hits and again striking out two with just one walk to earn the victory.
In the semifinals, the top-seeded Mustangs needed some late-game magic, scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth to edge Monterey 4-3. Manuel came up with the key hit – a two-run single – to make a winner out of senior Michael Riordan, who pitched the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.
The Cardinals reached the championship game with a pair of hard-fought wins in the first two rounds. Santa Cruz edged Milpitas 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the seventh and then defeated league rival Harbor 4-2, scoring all of its runs in the first inning.
