Daniel Buratto entered his senior season prepared to be an impact player for the Dos Pueblos baseball team.
Buratto stepped up to the challenge and helped the Chargers earn a share of the Channel League title.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Dos Pueblos’ Daniel Buratto
“He was huge,” DP coach Nick Katzenstein said. “He was a varsity guy last year and pitched for us a little bit, and he played outfield but he didn’t hit. This year, he had the opportunity to get in there and hit and do what he needed to do.
“And he stepped it up every which way imaginable on the baseball field, defensively, offensively, pitching. He was our guy. Without him we wouldn’t have had the success we had.”
Buratto’s performance has earned him the honor of Most Valuable Player on the Presidio Sports All-City Baseball Team.
Buratto is one of several standout pitchers selected to the team. The others are DP teammate Joshua Tedeschi, Santa Barbara’s Gabe Grandcolas and Kevin Gowdy, Carpinteria’s Mo Sanchez and Cate’s Carlos Fairbanks.
The other members of the All-City squad are Skyler Sabado and Tim Stickles of Santa Barbara, Luke Coffey, Quinn Peacock and Michael Boelter of Dos Pueblos, Parker Rozenberg of San Marcos and Kevin Stein and Duncan Gordon of Carpinteria.
The players will be recognized at the Santa Barbara Foresters baseball game on Sunday at 1 p.m., at UCSB’s Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
Buratto delivered with his arm and bat for Dos Pueblos. The left-hander went 5-4, threw a 1-hitter against San Marcos, posted a 1.81 ERA and struck out 50. At the plate, he was Chargers’ leading hitter with a .407 average, .495 on-base percentage, with 21 RBIs, five doubles and a triple.
“He was our four hitter and he cleaned up and got things going,” Katzenstein said. “It was good to have him in the lineup playing defense and hitting.”
Katzenstein noticed a big change in how Buratto approached the game this season.
“He was hungry and he got after it. He started to play the game of baseball and do the right things and it paid off. He broke the game down and began to understand what it meant. He played the game the right way.”
Also a standout on the football team, Buratto brought some of that football intensity and aggressiveness to the ball field.
“He’s competitive and the guys get that competitive feed off him,” said Katzenstein.
Based upon on-field performance and team leadership, the All-City All-Star Teams are selected by Presidio Sports to recognize the top high school student-athletes competing on the South Coast from Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria.
Each All-City selection will receive a special award certificate and be recognized online at PresidioSports.com and in print in the Santa Barbara Sentinel. The entire All-City Team will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony at this Sunday’s Santa Barbara Foresters baseball game. The game begins at 1 p.m., but the All-City honorees should arrive at UCSB’s stadium by 12:40 p.m. to be included in the pre-game ceremony.
PRESIDIO SPORTS’ ALL-CITY BASEBALL TEAM
All-City MVP: Daniel Buratto, Sr. Dos Pueblos
LUKE COFFEY, Jr. Dos Pueblos: The Chargers third baseman plays the game with toughness and passion. “He loves the game and loves to compete,” coach Katzenstein said. “He wants to tear the cover off the ball every time he steps into the batter’s box. Coffey batted .393, with 12 doubles, a homer, 14 RBIs, 18 runs and a .455 on-base percentage.
MICHAEL BOELTER, Jr. Dos Pueblos: Boelter found a home at shortstop. “He was outstanding for us,” Katzenstein said. “He played solid shortstop and took care of the ball. On the offensive side, he came up in some big situations and came up with some big RBIs.” He batted .338, with 12 RBIs and six doubles.
JOSHUA TEDESCHI, Sr. Dos Pueblos: The lanky left-hander turned in one of the best pitching performances of the season, a 13-strikeout, three-hit shutout against Santa Barbara. He allowed only two hits in 4.2 innings against powerhouse Harvard Westlake and was clutch in two wins over Ventura during the last week of the season that gave DP a share of the Channel League title. He had a 2.84 ERA with 40 strikeouts.
QUINN PEACOCK, Soph. Dos Pueblos: The spark plug for the Chargers. Katzenstein brought Peacock up to the varsity after a 1-6 start and he immediately made things happen. “Quinn got us rolling,” said the coach of his lead-off hitter and outfielder. “We’d get him in scoring position and Daniel or Coff would drive in a run.” Peacock scored 20 runs and had 10 RBIs. He hit .379, with an on-base percentage of .447.
GABE GRANDCOLAS, Sr. Santa Barbara: The Dons relied heavily on their starting pitchers and Grandcolas was their main man. “He’s the stalwart of the pitching staff,” assistant coach Mike Cooney said. “Gabe is the kind of pitcher that was best when it was toughest. We wouldn’t have come close to making playoffs if not for his pitching this year. A crafty pitcher, Grandcolas went 7-3, walked only 14 and had an ERA of 2.73. At the plate, he batted .276, led the team with 14 RBIs and tied for the team lead in doubles with eight.
KEVIN GOWDY, Soph. Santa Barbara: He showed great maturity as a young varsity pitcher. He posted a 6-3 record, a 1.19 ERA and struck out 62 batters in 64 innings. “He gave us the ability to stay close in games,” Cooney said. “Basically, he is the pitcher of the future.”
SKYLER SABADO, Sr. Santa Barbara: “He’s basically the glue of the team,” Cooney said of the catcher. “He developed into such a good pitch blocker, it gave pitchers the confidence to throw the breaking ball in the dirt, which is so important. He also was great defensively.” Sabado also made an impact on offense. He led the team with a .325 average. He’s accepted a scholarship to Benedict College, a Division 2 school in South Carolina.
TIM STICKLES, Sr. Santa Barbara: Stickles was dynamo at second base. “He became a rock in the infield,” Cooney said. “He saved so many hits. He went beyond solid and became exceptional.” Stickles had a .960 fielding percentage. At the plate, he hit .333 in Channel League play.
PARKER ROZENBURG, Sr. San Marcos: The Royals’ team captain pounded the ball during Channel League play, hitting .358, with a homer against one of Buena’s top pitchers. “A stocky frame with excellent power, Parker hit some of the hardest balls out of any player this season,” San Marcos assistant Morgan Moore said. “He’s a great character player who was extremely helpful to coaches on and off the field.”
CARLOS FAIRBANKS, Sr. Cate: Fairbanks produced on the mound and at the plate, leading the Rams to a share of the Condor League title. “Carlos was our top pitcher and was the guy we leaned on all season,” said Cate assistant Dave Soto. At the plate, he batted .380, with 10 RBIs, four doubles, three triples and 23 runs scored. He also made things happen on the bases, going 12-for-12 on stolen bases.
KEVIN STEIN, Sr. Carpinteria: His steady play behind the plate, his power and his leadership were big reasons the Warriors earned a share of the Frontier League title. “He is an absolute workhorse,” coach Pat Cooney said of the three-year varsity catcher. “This season he hit with regular power and provided a consistent physical leadership.” Stein hit. .373, with 18 RBIs, four doubles, three home runs and 18 runs scored. He had a fielding percentage of .980. He’s headed to the University of Massachusetts as a preferred walk on.
MO SANCHEZ, Sr. Carpinteria: A three-year varsity player, Sanchez emerged as a pitcher and a well-round player, coach Cooney said. “There were several games this year where he was dominant on the mound and also the most offensive player in the line up.” Sanchez won five games and posted a 2.20 ERA. He batted .377, with five doubles, two homers and a .528 on-base percentage.
DUNCAN GORDON, Sr. Carpinteria: Coach Cooney called Gordon “the best example of a student athlete that Carpinteria High School has.” He batted .310 and had a .418 on-base percentage as the team’s No. 3 hitter. He had four doubles and 12 RBIs. “We trusted him to bat third and he responded by repeating quality at bat after quality at bat. He completely accepted the team concept and led the team with confidence and humility.” Gordon also was outstanding on defense, playing error-free in the outfield.
