Capuchino graduate Devin Meyer shoves in Golden State League debut

Meyer is coming off his freshman season for the NCAA Division II baseball program at University of Hawaii at Hilo, where he pitched in five games, all in relief. But you wouldn’t know it by Saturday’s two-hit performance, as he faced just four batters over the minimum.

“I haven’t had a start in a while, so it felt really good to get back,” Meyer said.

It was quite a homecoming for Meyer, who grew up five minutes from San Bruno Park. The Seagulls have called Lara Field their home since 2018, and celebrated their fourth opening night there last Friday, hosting the South Bay Storm in front of a sizable crowd. But the celebration was dampened by the Storm rolling to a 14-8 win.

But Meyer got the Seagulls back on track Saturday.

“He just really picked us up,” Seagulls manager Marc Caviglia said. “I know it’s early in the season, but he picked us up when we needed it.”

It was a coincidence Meyer landed at Hawaii Hilo — Caviglia’s alma mater — and when he arrived there, he was thrown into a huge pool of pitchers. The Vulcans used 19 pitchers in 2022, including another freshman out of Capuchino, Conor Meehan, who was recruited along with Meyer.

While Meyer went on to post a 5.14 ERA through seven relief innings, Meehan landed a spot in the Vulcans starting rotation. Meehan, however, had his season cut short after being injured March 15 in a game against Concordia University when he was struck in the pitching wrist with a line drive.

Meyer said he sees his role at Hawaii Hilo next season as a reliever.

“I’m planning on also being a reliever again next year,” Meyer said. “It depends, we’ll see how it goes. But I’m planning on going in as a long reliever next year which is a step up because I only threw [seven] innings this year.”

The right-hander certainly took to the “long” role Saturday. Utilizing a slider he learned earlier this year for Hawaii Hilo, he spotted a three-pitch mix and only faced one tough inning all evening, that coming in the first when he allowed a two-out triple to Logan Azem, a Serra graduate, hitting in the No. 3 spot for the Bees.

Meyer quickly navigated out of the jam. He allowed just one other hit, a fifth-inning single to Keith Whitaker.

“Devin took the ball and went seven shutout innings,” Caviglia said. “He kept his pitch count low … commanded three pitches and commanded both sides of the plate.”

And he did so in front of a hometown contingent of friends and family.

“It was cool,” Meyer said. “I definitely adapted really quick because I’m definitely used to that field.”

Who are the Seagulls?

The Seagulls — a team that pools collegiate players, predominantly Bay Area natives — feature several county players. Cañada College has four players on roster, pitcher Alejandro Palomarez, infielder Josue Iniguez, and outfielders Joseph Lee and Tommy Ozawa. Former Burlingame pitcher Mario Vargas (San Francisco State), and Capuchino graduate David Balague (San Francisco City College) are also on roster.

“The amount (of community college players) that we have and the amount that are going to play heavily for us is definitely unorthodox,” Caviglia said. “This year it’s just how the ball fell into place.”

Founded in 2003 by Caviglia and Doug Price, the Seagulls have moved from the city fields of San Francisco, to Fairmont Field in Pacifica, until relocating to San Bruno Park in 2018. The latest move made sense, seeing as Caviglia — a Burlingame graduate — is a San Bruno native.

In addition to the GSCBL team, Caviglia’s travel baseball organization has flourished. Based entirely in San Bruno, the Seagulls Baseball Academy features youth teams for 11U through 14U, as well as a high school team. The GSCBL was founded by Caviglia and Richard Ruiz in 2013.

The six-team GSCBL now spans from the East Bay to Sacramento to Reno.

For the first time this summer, the Seagulls will host the GSCBL playoffs at San Bruno Park. Traditionally a three-team tournament, the postseason finale series will span July 21-23.