It was almost too good to be true because it almost didn't happen. After losing to the Woodward Travelers on Saturday night, the Carson Capitols needed some help from the Danville Hoots to reach the 22nd annual Capitol Classic championship game.
Fortunately, the Hoots beat the Travelers Sunday morning and the Capitols (35-5) advanced to the championship for the second consecutive year.
But unlike last year, pitcher and tournament MVP Brian Cochran led the Caps to their first Classic championship since 1993 by beating Santa Rosa 6-1 in the finals Sunday night at Carson High.
"The reason we're here is to win this thing," said Cochran, who just finished his second-year at Feather River College. "This is perfect timing for me because this is the last time I'll ever pitch in the Capitol Classic."
Cochran, who has played with the Caps the past three years, was named the tournament MVP after pitching a complete game in the championship game along with his shutout victory Tuesday against the Hawaii All Select team.
"I'm just happy for the kids," said McNutt, who thinks this year's team is his best team in terms of team cohesion. "Now we're just going to have some fun."
The Caps got things started in the second after a pair of singles by Pat Reilly and Jonathan Fender. Then Dustin Hahn bunted down the third base line to load the bases. Pete White's bunt blooped over pitcher Scott Potter 's head, and Reilly scored the game's first run.
Then in the third, the Caps increased their lead to 2-0 after Reilly's RBI double that scored Joe Mercer.
In the fourth, the Caps added three more runs after Brain Kleidosty's two-run homer and Reilly's RBI single that again scored Mercer.
Santa Rosa threatened to make a comeback in the bottom of the fourth. Matt Lew reached first after a throwing error by Fender and Cochran walked Dan Mocny to put runners on first and second.
Lew tried to score from second after Jared Wilburn's single to right field but was tagged out by Mercer.
The call sent Santa Rosa coach Mel Arnerich out to dispute the call with the umpire, but the call stood. Then Chris Bacigalupi hit an RBI single to score Santa Rosa's first run of the game, and made the score 5-1.
"It's a game of breaks and they obviously didn't go our way tonight," Arnerich said. "If they did, the score could've been a little different."
In the fifth, things almost a lot worse for Santa Rosa. Hahn singled to begin the inning and then White's single put runners on the corners. The Caps scored another run after Potter balked to score Hahn. Potter then walked Pedroia to load the bases but fortunately for Santa Rosa, Kleidosty flied out to end the inning.
"This is probably the biggest game he's (Potter) ever played in," Arnerich said about his 16-year old pitcher.
Santa Rosa nearly scored again in the fifth after consecutive singles by Cameron Garcia and Joel DeMaria. But a terrific double play set up by White and Pedroia allowed the Caps to escape the inning undamaged.
"They're a good ball team and are probably the best team we've played in the tournament," Arnerich said. "I feel the better team did win tonight."
The Classic All-Tournament Team was named after the championsip game. This year's members are: Drew Anderson, Carmel Bulls, Ben Newton, Boise Gems, Dan Macha, Austin Slam, Brandon League, All-Hawaii Select, Josh Gaub, Parma, Mateo Miramontes, Danville Hoots, Beau Sullivan, Woodward Travelers, Dustin Pedroia, Carson Capitols, Joe Jacobitz, Capitols, Joe Mercer, Capitols, Brian Kleidosty, Capitols, Steve Berg, Santa Rosa, Dan Mocny, Santa Rosa.
Tournament's top pitcher: J.P. Howell, Capitols. Tournament's top hitter: Jason Newcomb, Parma. Tournament MVP: Brian Cochran, Capitols.