East Nicolaus (Nicolaus, Calif.) pitcher John Kukuruda extended his no-hitter streak to four games in a row Friday, shutting down the Hamilton Braves 10-0 in five innings in the Spartans' regular season finale.
Kukuruda allowed only four balls put in play all day during a game shortened to five innings via the 10-run mercy rule. The Spartan senior struck out 11 batters, walked one and hit one to pick up his fourth straight no-hitter and break a tie for most consecutive no-hitters in California state history. Kukuruda entered the game tied with Selma's Lloyd Allen, who had three no-hitters in a row in 1967, according to Cal-Hi Sports.
"I didn't even really think about throwing a no-hitter," said Kukuruda, who upped his record to 6-2 on the season with the victory. "I just put it in the back of my mind and concentrated on the next pitch, and the next pitch, and the next pitch."
Kukuruda streak also equals the feat of Patrick Schuster, who caught the nation's attention last year while pitching for Mitchell (New Port Richey, Fla.). There was no similar fanfare at East Nicolaus' Friday outing against Hamilton (Hamilton City, Calif.) as only two reporters and a contingent of about 100 fans, many of them there to celebrate Senior Day for the Spartans 10 members of the senior class, watched Kukuruda equal Schuster.
"We're just a small town," said East Nicolaus coach Dave Deniz. "But we're starting to get some phone calls from the national media, so it's getting interesting."
East Nicolaus is more of a community than a town with the high school acting as one of the common gathering spots. Nestled between Highway 70 and Highway 65 in south Sutter County between Yuba City and Sacramento, the area surrounding the high school is mostly farmland as far as the eye can see. Highway 70 no longer goes through the center of town and the few establishments that dot the main drag include a market, the volunteer fire department and, fittingly, a Little League baseball park.
East Nicolaus draws its 325 students from the many farming families that make up the area, with many students coming from miles away just to attend school.
However while the town of East Nicolaus may not be bustling with activity during the day, the school is often the place to be on game day. During football season, Spartan fans fill Geoff Wahl Stadium and root on a program that has won six section championships over the past 15 years.
The baseball program has been equally as successful, winning five section titles during that same span and earning a No. 1 ranking in the state among Division V schools in 1999 by Cal-Hi Sports. The Spartans look to add to that legacy in 2010 with Kukuruda leading the way.
Ironically, Kukuruda's record heading into his no-hit streak was just 2-2 including a disappointing 12-6 loss to Lassen that immediately preceded his first no-hitter, which came April 16 against Esparto.
"We made a ton of errors in that Lassen game, too," said Deniz. "We didn't help John out at all in that game. But John has come a long way since the beginning of the season. It's almost night and day between his first game of the season and where he is now."
Amazingly, Kukuruda threw only 16.2 innings last year for a Spartan team that went 22-3 and was the No. 1 seed in the Northern Section Division III playoffs before falling in the first round to the No. 8 seed.
This year the Spartans are again the No. 1 seed, only this time in the Division IV playoffs. With a 22-3 record, Kukuruda feels confident there won't be any letdown this year once the postseason begins.
"We're a much closer team this year," he said. "There's a lot of chemistry and we have a lot of camaraderie that we didn't have last year."
Deniz concurred, calling this year's squad his most cohesive unit.
"This team isn't the best overall team I've had, but it has the best chemistry, by far," he said. "You just never know what will happen in the playoffs. When we won the section championship a couple of years ago, it was not one of our better teams, but we just got on a roll. Last year we were the No. 1 seed and we lost in the first round. So you just never know."
The Spartans are certainly on a roll now, thanks in large part to the pitching of Kukuruda, who has thrown 22 1/3 consecutive no-hit innings including 1 1/3 innings in relief on Tuesday in a 19-0 win over Esparto in a game played at Raley Field in Sacramento.
However Deniz is quick to point out that the Spartans are not a one-trick pony. Pitcher Dylan Culp actually leads the team in wins at 9-1 while shortstop Scotty Lehman leads the state of California in doubles (18) and stolen bases (40), according to MaxPreps.
Culp played a big role in Friday's win over Hamilton, driving in two runs with a home run to centerfield in the second inning. The blast was his third home of the season. Meanwhile Lehman was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base. He also fielded the only ground ball out of the game, throwing out the batter in the fifth inning.
East Nicolaus broke open the scoring in the second inning. After Culp's home run, Kevin Logsdon doubled home a run and scored, along with Lehman who had walked, on a single by Aaron Cater for a 5-0 lead.
The Spartans added two more in the third on Kukuruda's single, a groundball out and basehits by Joey Sleva and Cody Evans.
Kukuruda also helped himself out with a 3-for-3 effort that included a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to give East Nicolaus an 8-0 lead.
The Braves, however, were unable to match the Spartans' offensive output. The alma mater of Major League Baseball pitcher Kyle Lohse, Hamilton has a strong baseball tradition that includes several section championships and a section title game appearance just two years ago. However this year's Hamilton squad features just three seniors and a multitude of sophomores, which proved to be just the right mixture for Kukuruda's fourth no-hitter.
Kukuruda gave up a ground ball to the first batter, Drew Knight, but Culp mishandled the ball at first base for an error. Kukuruda got the next batter to popup back to the mound and then fanned the No. 3 and 4 batters to end the inning.
After striking out three straight in the second inning, Kukuruda struck out the first batter to start the third for his sixth straight K. A walk to the No. 9 batter preceded two more strikeouts to end the third.
In the fourth, Kukuruda hit the No. 3 batter, Kyle LaClaire, on the foot. A short pop fly by the next batter allowed East Nicolaus to double up LaClaire as he was running on the pitch, only to have the third baseman catch it and throw to first for the double play. Kukuruda struck out the next batter to end the inning.
In the fifth, Kukuruda sandwiched a ground ball to shortstop around two strikeouts, setting up the bottom of the fifth for the Spartans, who only needed two runs to bring an early end to the game.
After a walk to Tommy Sleva, Logsdon and Evans each singled to make it 9-0. Following a strikeout, Cater got his second hit of the game with a base knock up the middle to score Logsdon with the 10th run.
The Spartans labored at the plate in the final inning, swinging at several balls in the dirt, perhaps anxious to get the game over with and get Kukuruda his fourth no-hitter.
"They were swinging at some bad pitches because I think they wanted to get it over with," said Deniz. "But in the dugout, it was just like any other game for the first four innings. We didn't even think about it being a no-hitter."
Kukuruda joins a list of eight pitchers who have thrown four consecutive no-hitters, including Schuster, who threw four in a row last year. Others include Justin Harvuth, Grand Saline, Texas (1997), Keith Atherton, Mathews, Va. (1977), Ronnie Sims, Spartanburg Dorman, S.C. (1972), Peter Denz, Cromwell, Conn. (1969), Barry Needham, Randolph, Mass. (1962) and Steve Kelley, Danville, Ill. (1959).
Tom Engle of Lancaster Fairfield Union, Ohio (1989) and Chris Taranto of Biloxi Notre Dame, Miss. (1961) hold the national record with six consecutive no-hitters. Three other pitchers, Gary Rowe of Wagoner, Okla. (1977), Tom Murray of Uncasville St. Bernard, Conn. (1968-69) and Colt Molloy of Memphis, Texas (2007) each threw five in a row.
The shutout win was the fourth shutout in a row for Kukuruda as well. As a team, East Nicolaus has won its last six games by shutout and has 10 shutouts on the year.
According to Deniz, Culp will start East Nicolaus' playoff opener, scheduled for Friday, May 14. Should the Spartans win their playoff opener, Kukuruda would start the next game, which would be played in East Nicolaus on May 18. The section finals are scheduled for Saturday, May 22.
