El Capitan’s Davuluri tosses no-hitter in victory

Sai Davuluri has flirted with no-hitters the last two seasons, keeping teams hitless deep into games. The El Capitan ace finally finished one off on Wednesday in a 5-0 win over Santa Teresa of San Jose.

Davuluri struck out eight and walked none to even the Gauchos record at 1-1 after the second day of the Elite 8 Tournament at St. Francis High School.

“He did a great job of being around the dish,” said El Capitan coach Aaron Ruiz, whose team improved to 11-6 this season. “He was the same Sai we know. He mixed his pitches well and kept the hitters off balance. He got a ton of ground balls.”

Davuluri lost a no-hitter in the sixth inning in a 3-0 win over Buhach Colony on March 31st this season, which was his last appearance.

The senior right-hander went almost 27 innings before walking his first batter this season. He’s now walked just one hitter in 37 innings. He’s also only given up just one earned run for a microscropic 0.19 ERA to go along with his 5-0 record.

Davuluri said it was around the fifth inning that he started thinking about the no-hitter on Wednesday.

“I think once you get past the fourth inning, everyone starts getting a little antsy,” Davuluri said. “That’s when it hit me. For me, it was the same as the other games. Obviously, it’s in the back of your mind. I just tried to have fun and not really think about it. I just tried to make my pitches and let the batters get themselves out.”

The game was scoreless until the Gauchos broke through for a run in the top of the fourth inning. Dylan Webber reached on a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved up to third on a ground ball and scored on a wild pitch.

El Capitan broke up the game with a three-run sixth inning. Davuluri delivered the big blow with a bases-loaded double that plated two runs.

Braiden Ward led the El Capitan 10-hit attack with three hits. Mark Sellers and Chase Whitaker added two hits each.

Davuluri said there wasn’t a big celebration after the game.

“We kept it cool,” he said. “Everyone got a nice hug. Someone said I don’t have to pay for dinner tonight.”

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 2:48 PM with the headline "El Capitan’s Davuluri tosses no-hitter in victory."