Mustangs apply pressure in 7-0 win

SAN BRUNO – There are several things that stood out in Capuchino’s 7-0 victory over visiting Mills on Friday night.

Most notable was the way the Mustangs’ pedal-to-the-metal approach to the game. They play a hard, aggressive brand of baseball, particularly on the bases, where they pressured the Vikings into too many mistakes to make is a competitive contest.

“That’s what we do,” said Cap coach Matt Wilson. “We want our kids to play fast catch and we are aggressive to make other teams play fast catch as well.”

Cap (3-0) scored an unearned run on losing pitcher Nate Lafon in the first inning and then chased him from the game in the third inning when they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs by forcing the issue with stolen bases, going first to third at every opportunity and executing the hit-and-run to perfection.

It was a clinic in how to force one’s will on the opposition.

And pitcher Declan Mendel was the beneficiary of the bevy of run support. The senior right-hander tossed five innings of two-hit ball, while striking out eight.

Three Things We Liked

·        Senior catcher Lucas Zayac’s bat is legitimate. He had hits in his first three trips to the plate and was the catalyst to the Mustangs’ attack. Perhaps the best job in the PAL Bay Division is being Zayac’s courtesy runner. On Friday, that was Jordan Estrella, who moved from first to third on an errant pickoff throw in the first inning and scored on a sacrifice fly. In the third, he stole a base, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Travis Ciardella base hit.

·        The left side of the Capuchino infield might be the best defensive duo in the Bay Division. Third baseman Ankin Manuel and shortstop Andres Gomez cover a lot of ground, and each has a s strong arm.

·        Mendel’s ability to pull the string. The senior threw two consecutive slow – and we mean slowwwww – curveballs to Aiden Brown in the first inning to record the strikeout.

Up Next: Capuchino (3-0) travels to Serra on Wednesday, while Mills (0-2) hosts Sacred Heart Prep.

W: Mendel. L: Nate Lafon. 3 hits- Zayac (C). 2 hits- Ciardella (C)

St. Ignatius Prep 5, Redwood 5, 9 innings

The Wildcats had to settle for a tie after the game was called by darkness after nine innings.

The tie – three days after SI's 2-0 season-opening victory over nationally ranked Granada – came on a day when the Wildcats pounded out 13 hits.

D.J. Delaney had a huge game for the Wildcats, pounding out five hits, including a triple. He also scored twice, drove in a run and added three stolen bases.

A.J. Wineinger had three hits, while Emmet Johnson added two.

After SI (1-0-1) scored two in the first, the Giants chased Beau Shaffer in the bottom of the inning by scoring four runs. The bullpen tandem of Spencer Guido and Tycco Giometti stepped up by allowing just one run over the final eight innings.

5 hits- Delaney (SI). 3 hits- Wineinger. 2 hits- Emmet johnson. 3B- Delaney (SI). 2B- Wineinger. 2 RBI- Wineinger.

Carlmont 7, El Camino 2

The Scots improved to 2-0 by jumping to a 3-0 lead and never letting the visiting Colts back into the game.

Levi Welman and Johnny Dunne had two hits each for Carlmont, which pounded out 10 hits.

The Scots will be tested next week when the travel to the South Bay for the always-tough Wilcox Tournament, which features top-ranked Valley Christian and No. 2 Mitty.

El Camino dropped to 0-2 but pounded out 10 hits. Quentin Bromagim had three hits, while Nick Jang and Adrian Iniguez had two hits each.

W: Fong. L: Iniguez. 3 hits- Q.Bromagim (EC). 2 hits- Jang (EC), Iniguez (EC). Wellman (C), Dunne (C). 2B- J. Tofigh (C), Becker (C), Wellman (C).

Leigh 6, Hillsdale 5

Jake Belloni homered, while Parker Jessup had a two-run triple, wasn't enough for the Knights, who couldn't hold the lead against Leigh.

Jacob Bonner had two hits, including a double for Hillsdale (1-2).

W: Hernandez. L: Schultz. S: Miller. 2 hits- Bonner (H) HR- Belloni (H). 3B- Jessup (H). 2B- Bonner.
2 RBI- Jessup (H).

Mitty 3, Homestead 2

The Monarchs opened their season with a come-from-behind victory. After spotting Homestead a 2-0 lead, Mitty scored a run in the second and two in the third on a Grayson Munoz bases loaded single.

That was all Carson Seeger and Justin Humbert needed. They shut down Homestead the rest of the way. Seeger struck out two over five innings, while Humbert pitched the final two frames to earn the victory.

Cooper Salter had one RBI and Grayson Munoz plated the other two runs. The senior first baseman had two hits for Mitty (1-0).

W: Seeger. L: Bussey. S- Humbert. 2 hits- Allen (M), Munoz (M). 2 RBI- Munoz.

Bellarmine 6, Buchanan 3

Evan Tavarez had three hits, including a home run and a double as the Bells improved to 2-0 with the 6-3 home victory. He also drove in three runs.

D.J. Dunne added a two-hit game.

W: Pera. L: Myers. 3 hits- Tavarez (B). 2 hits- Dunne (B). 3 RBI- Tavarez (B). HR- Tavarez (B). 2B- Tavarez (B). 2B- Rockwood (B)

Saint Francis 4, Palo Alto 3

The Laners hung on for the win in their third one-run game in as many contests.

Sione Tulua's RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth snapped a 2-2 tie. A Landon King grounder chased home Tulua with Saint Francis' fourth run.

Ian McMahon tossed a complete game for the Lancers. He threw 101 pitches and struck out nine.

Tanner wall had two hits, while Gino Cappellazzo had a base hit and an RBI for the Lancers (2-1)

W: McMahon L: White. 2 hits- Wall (SF).