Cap claims first CCS crown

Burton channeled that disappointment into a masterpiece, as the senior right-hander fired a two-hit shutout lead No. 1 Capuchino to a 1-0 win over No. 2 Santa Cruz. With the win, the Mustangs (20-10) claim their first CCS championship in three tries, previously finishing runners-up in 1981 and 2023.

“Amazing — finally we got it,” Burton said. “After last year, we lost. Came back, did even better. … We knew had to work hard, get back here. We came back and won it.”

It was fitting Burton was the one to carry Cap to championship glory. His family is San Bruno strong through and through, Mustangs manager Matt Wilson said.

“He just has that bulldog mentality,” Wilson said. “He just goes out there and — his grandfather, his father, his uncles, they’re all from San Bruno. And they have that San Bruno grit to them. It’s just blue-collar and, I’m going to come in and do whatever it takes to get the job done. That’s what he did today, for sure.”

Burton locked up with Santa Cruz starting pitcher Morgan Toohey for a magnificent pitching duel. While Burton faced just four over the minimum, and at one point set down eight straight Cardinals batters, Toohey matched zeroes with him through the first five innings.

Toohey allowed just five hits, and pitched through a two-on, one-out jam in the second. But Burton was simply never in jeopardy of surrendering a run. Santa Cruz (14-14) never advanced a baserunner into scoring position.

“Definitely after the first inning once I got my confidence,” Burton said. “And then after that, with my defense on my back, I knew the game was over from there.”

Cap’s defense certainly showed up in big moments. Burton led off the highlight reel with a clutch play in the first, knocking down a sharp line drive off the bat of cleanup hitter Cameron Fusari, calmly chasing it down behind the mound and throwing to first for the third out of the inning.

Then in the late innings, plays by catcher Lucas Zayac and center fielder Nathan Balch loomed large.

In the sixth, amid a scoreless tie, Santa Cruz junior Damos Deworken lined a one-out single to left, then threatened to move into scoring position as the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter attempted to steal second. Zayac —as a running back with the Cap football team in the fall, he threw four touchdowns on option passes — showed off his cannon behind the plate by gunning down Deworken for the second out of the inning.

“That guy’s amazing,” Burton said of Zayac. “I have no words to describe him. He helped me out all this year, and without him we wouldn’t be here.”

Then after Cap took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, Balch in center field came up with a big-time diving catch with one on and one out in the seventh. Fernando DaCosta led off the inning with a single, then switch places with Fusari on a fielder’s choice grounder. Nick Bogomilsky then stepped to the plate and shot a sinking liner into shallow center field.

“I saw the ball, it was right there,” Balch said. “It looked like it was going to be a base hit, but I just want my team to win.”

Balch got a good first step and committed to an all-or-nothing dive to glove it and, instead of Cardinals flying around the basepaths, had Cap within one out of a championship celebration.

“I was a little bit nervous, but he’s been making plays like that all year,” Wilson said. “That’s Balch. He flies all over the outfield. That’s why he’s in center field because he can cover the most ground, and that kid will run through a fence for you every time.”

Cap’s timely hitting set the stage for the momentous seventh.

Zayac led off the bottom of the sixth with a bolt single to left. Then Burton helped his own cause, getting a little fortunate when the at-bat seemed to be going against him. The left-handed hitting senior got the bunt sign on the first pitch but fouled it off. After he swung away, he sent a smash back to Toohey on the mound. Toohey knocked the ball down and scrambled after it as it rolled toward second. The junior right-hander recovered and underhanded the ball to second base ahead of the runner, but the Santa Cruz shortstop had the ball clank off the heel of his glove for an error, putting Mustangs at first and second with one out.

“Off the bat I thought I got a base hit, but then I saw it hit the pitcher, and I saw it pop up and I knew I had to get to first base quick,” Burton said. “I saw him throw to second, dropped it, and I was just happy.”

Then cleanup hitter Anakin Manuel stepped to the plate. He too fouled off a bunt attempt, but that foul bunt was one of the best things to happen to the Cap offense all night. On the next pitch, Manuel got a changeup on the outside corner, and scorched it into right-center for an RBI single to plate Zayac with the game’s only run.

“I just wanted to let it get deep, and I just drove it the other way,” Manuel said. “It was great. As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to be a hit. And as I was running down the first-base line, I was watching the runner, and I was just like, ‘Yes! That’s what we needed.”

Burton made the run hold up. And for the final out of the game, Cap’s workhorse coaxed a popup to shortstop Declan Mendel, who waved off the entire city of San Jose before gloving it to set off the first CCS championship celebration in Cap history.

The 1-0 final marks the Mustangs’ 15th one-run game of the year. They are 10-5 in those games.

“If it’s not a one-game, I don’t know what we’re doing this year,” Wilson said. “That just tells what kind of team we have. They have fight in them, and they just don’t give up, and they just battle all the way to the end.”

Cap now advances to the CIF Regional Baseball Championships. Brackets will be announced Sunday with play opening Tuesday.