BURLINGAME, CA — Aiden Yarwood was at his absolute finest on Friday night, throwing his second no-hitter of the season as visiting Capuchino topped Burlingame, 6-0. Yarwood also threw a no-no in the Mustangs’ 11-0 win over Riordan on March 10.
In an 88-pitch effort Friday night, Yarwood walked four batters and only allowed one ball hit out of the infield. With one out in the seventh, however, the Panthers’ Tyler White hit a bullet down the first-base line, but Jakob Uriarte dove to his left, made the stop, and stepped on first for the out. Following a walk to Robby Harrigan, Yarwood got Tyler Gannon to ground out to shortstop to complete the no-hitter.
“I was able to get the fastball and curveball over for strikes,” Yarwood said. “I didn’t have my best stuff, but I fixed my mechanics and my defense picked me up tonight.”
The Mustangs (14-3, 4-2 PAL Bay) gave Yarwood immediate run support, with some help from the Panthers’ shaky defense. Trey Zahursky led off the game with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Yarwood then laid down a bunt back to the pitcher’s mound, but Burlingame starter Derek Flowers threw the ball away, allowing Zahursky to score. Yarwood advanced to second on another wild pitch, moved to third on a single by Matthew O’Mahony, and scored on a ground-out by Leonardo Espinoza.
The two runs in the first inning were all Yarwood would need, but he struggled a bit early. With two outs in the first, Yarwood walked both Carlo Lopiccolo and Gray Goodman, but got White to ground into a force out to escape.
“The composure was just there,” Capuchino coach Matt Wilson said of Yarwood. “He’s a special kid. He doesn’t get down when he has a bad inning, and tonight he just stayed composed the whole game.”
After the first inning, Yarwood did not allow another base runner until the sixth, ending a streak of 15 straight batters retired. He finished with only four strikeouts, but constantly kept the Panthers off balance with his fastball-curveball combination, and recorded 13 outs on ground balls.
The Mustangs had chances to add to their lead in the second, fourth and sixth innings, but left men in scoring position each time. In the seventh, however, Capuchino put the game away. Justin Beressi came on in relief of Flowers and allowed two singles to open the inning. After a ground ball advanced the runners, O’Mahony reached on an error by the shortstop to score a run. Espinoza notched his second RBI of the game with a single later in the inning, and a pair of bases-loaded walks accounted for the final two runs of the game.
The story, however, was clearly Yarwood, who showed no noticeable signs of fatigue as the game wore on. After throwing 19 pitches in the first inning, he threw no more than 14 in an inning the rest of the way.
“I’m feeling great,” Yarwood said. “I just had Gatorade dumped on me, and I’m excited for the rest of [the season].”
With the win, Capuchino moves into a tie for second place with Terra Nova, just one game behind first-place Carlmont. Burlingame (6-6-1, 2-3) sits in fifth. The Mustangs play a home-and-home series next Wednesday and Friday against Sequoia, while the Panthers will do the same thing against Sacred Heart Prep.
