Clutch pitching confirms Walnut Creek victory over Menlo Park

As sophomore pitcher Weston Thornbury stepped off the mound, Walnut Creek led 8-2 over Menlo Park and was full of confidence.

However, baseball is a game of runs. With how the 2026 season has gone, all it would take to completely flip the fate of the game is one good inning. The pitchers behind him, primarily senior Noah Zirkle and sophomore Myles Brand, made sure that wouldn't be the case.

Now 20-8 and at the top of the CCL North, the Crawdads can extend credit to those two in helping take down the Legends.

The first arm out of the bullpen was Zirkle, who had a historic outing on Tuesday.

Across two innings, Zirkle faced eight batters and allowed just two baserunners, both on walks. Alongside going hitless, Zirkle struck out four batters, the most during his college career.

Being a Crawdad veteran, Zirkle has a well formed perspective on summer ball. When he steps on the mound, he sees all angles of the outcomes.

"I'm going to do the best I can to develop and have the best results, so when I go to school, I'm feeling like I'm on cloud nine," Zirkle said. "That goes hand in hand with baseball being a team sport where you have to put in a team attitude."

While seeing the bigger picture, Zirkle also has the ability to look closer and take the day at face value. As he stepped off the mound tired, he was more than happy with his performance.

"This is a great confidence booster," Zirkle said. "This is a good day to stack to move on to the next day."

After Zirkle walked off the mound, Menlo Park found its way back into the game with some hitting in the later innings.

However, Brand made sure to put an end to the late rally.

After giving up a double to the first batter he faced, Brand shut down the Legends, allowing just one baserunner the rest of the day.

Getting five of seven batters out while striking out two, Brand closed the game to confirm an important Crawdad victory.

While his pitching counterpart had a wider perspective heading into the day, the younger Brand's goal when stepping onto the mound was much simpler.

"Dominate," Brand said. "Get the outs. Do my roll."

While Brand was concise with his mindset, his coach, Brant Cummings, had a clearer explanation of what made Brand's day so great.

"Throwing strikes," Cummings said. "He came in, struck the guy out. He threw the ball around the plate and gave us a chance to compete."

After taking down Menlo Park, the Crawdads officially took control of the CCL North, sitting with a .714 winning percentage, good for second in the entire CCL. Being at the top of the division, Walnut Creek officially controls its fate on taking the No. 1 seed in the league, as the champion of the CCL North will host the championship in 2026.

Now up next for the Crawdads is a Wednesday matchup against Sonoma, set to start at 4:00 p.m. at Monte Vista.

With the end of the regular season under two weeks away, Cummings prepared his team for the final stretch with a clear message.

"For the next 10 days, they have to find a way to bring their laser focus," Cummings said. "Understand it's going to be a dogfight every night out."