Stubbles, Ferrari combine on no-hitter in Colt League C&L Mudcats

Well, in addition to pitching dominance, it turns out the kid’s got style too. With the Daily Journal covering Stubbles Tuesday night for the first time since that April 25 gem, the C&L Mudcats’ ace right-hander commanded five hitless innings to combine with reliever DJ Ferrari on a surprising no-hitter in a 9-1 win over Daly City Red in Peninsula Colt League action at Westborough Park.

Stubbles surrendered one unearned run, walked three and pitched through two errors. But he dominated to the tune of nine strikeouts before handing the ball to Ferrari, who walked one and struck out two in closing out the no-no.

What made it a “surprising” no-hitter is the feat seemed to fly under the radar of the Mudcats players. On a howling windy South San Francisco evening, there was nothing in the way of postgame celebration.

“It’s so cold, it took [the celebration] out of everybody,” Mudcats manager Vince Lopiccolo said.

There was, however, a palpable edge of a team competing for the top spot in the National Division standings. C&L (6-1 overall) entered play Tuesday a half game back of first-place Foster City. With the win, defending league champion C&L climbs back into a tie atop the division standings.

Daly City Red (5-3) is in the thick of the race as well, having shown its offensive proficiency through much of its previous summer schedule. Through its first four games, Daly City had five players batting above the .500 mark. Stubbles and Ferrari, though, took a bite out of those season averages.

“It’s one of those things; it’s baseball,” said Carlos Quintana, Daly City Red’s manager, in light of the season’s previous matchup with C&L when his team banged out 10 hits during a 4-3 loss. “But this guy (Stubbles), he pitched well.”

Boy, did he. The biting downward plane of Stubbles’ crisp fastball was frustrating Daly City all evening, and in more ways than one. This was especially evident when Daly City was in the field, and routinely complaining its pitchers weren’t getting as many low strikes called as Stubbles.

The finish of Stubbles’ velocity across the bottom of the zone was tough to match though. And it was this giddyup that consistently coaxed the low strike calls.

“When he finishes down, he’s dirty,” Lopiccolo said.

Stubbles and Ferrari were both in the middle of C&L’s early offensive as well. Stubbles paced all hitters, going 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Ferrari was 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and only made an out in the fifth inning when he struck out looking while getting cheesed with a wildly exaggerated strike zone.

The Mudcats scored all the runs they would need in the first inning, rallying for a 3-spot with an RBI double from cleanup hitter Lorenzo Perez, an RBI single from Ferrari and an RBI single from Josh Zamora.

Then they continued to add on. After Daly City scored its lone run in the top of the second when Tim Sweeters plated on an infield error, the Mudcats answered with three more runs in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Matt Dayao, an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Ryan Delefuente, and another RBI knock from Ferrari.

C&L added single runs in the third, fifth and sixth. In the third, Stubbles drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Jesse Ramos. In the fifth, Stubbles lashed an RBI single to score Dayao. And in the sixth, Carey Yip scored on an infield error.

Sweeters, the starting pitcher for Daly City, worked 1 2/3 innings in taking the loss. His record falls to 1-2.

Sweeters is part of a deep Daly City pitching staff though. Akeem Lewis and Luke Mar round out the starting rotation, while Lewis’ twin brother Azaan, Leo Kikuchi and Kieron Collins have added bullpen depth for a Daly City squad coming off an abysmal 2016 season during which it posted a 1-17 record.

“The pitching is probably the strongest quality,” Quintana said. “We’re pretty deep. If we can match it up with our offense, we’re tough to beat.”

In relief of Stubbles, though, Ferrari made certain to keep Daly City’s offense in check on this night. It was the second no-hitter Ferrari has been a part of this year. During the spring with El Camino High School, the sophomore varsity right-hander chucked a complete-game no-hitter March 21 in an 11-1 win at Harker.

While it isn’t so evident when he’s on the mound, when he’s manning the shortstop position — as he did for the first five frames Tuesday — the resemblance he bears to San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is uncanny. Not only is Ferrari a stern but slick-fielding shortstop, at the plate he utilizes a similarly open left-handed batting stance.

And then there’s the hair — the flowing locks he somehow manages to wrestle into a baseball cap for a faux-mullet look. And don’t think his teammates don’t let him have it with the B-Craw comparisons.

“Just the hair,” Ferrari said. “When I play shortstop, they really go at it.”