REDLANDS — If your team is losing 6-0 before getting a turn at bat, most fans would get discouraged.
Arrowhead Christian Academy coach Cliff Toth and his Eagles weren’t afraid one bit.
On the other hand, scoring six runs in the first inning might cause that team’s supporters to be overconfident. Tahquitz coach Mike Solar was under no illusion in Friday’s CIF Southern Section Division 3 first-round playoff game against the Eagles.
Tahquitz took a 6-0 advantage in the first inning following a bases-loaded double by Tyler Fiallos. Arrowhead Christian rallied back, scoring five runs in the fourth inning and adding four insurance runs in the fifth en route to an 11-7 victory over Tahquitz.
“When we met after the top of the first, I told them one run an inning,” Toth said. “Our philosophy is Team Before Me. We have a ton of resilience and we have played against tough competition all season long.”
It was the ninth consecutive victory for Arrowhead Christian, which will play Centennial in the second round on Tuesday.
ACA improved to 18-8, while Tahquitz finished with a 16-6-1 mark.
“They (Arrowhead Christian) have a lot of good hitters and we knew we would have to play well to beat them,” Solar said. “Our kids competed their butts off and I’m proud of them.”
Ethin Bingaman started the second inning and allowed only one run in six innings. He struck out 10 batters and escaped a bases-loaded situation in the top of the second. Toth had planned to start Bingaman in the second round, but circumstances revised the best-laid plans of the Eagles’ manager.
“Coach told me to be ready in case I was needed,” Bingaman said.
Bingaman also reached base in his three plate appearances, singling home a run to start the fourth-inning rally. Three of ACA runs scored when an infield fly was lost in the sun, giving the Eagles a 7-6 advantage.
Tahquitz’s Ramon Valenzuela, a senior who will attend Menlo College in the fall, drove a home run over the right-field fence to tie the score at seven in the top of the fifth.
ACA countered with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Isaiah Sanchez singled to center and was sacrificed to second by catcher Gamaliel Martinez. Bingaman walked. Tyler Young and Diesel Toth followed with run-scoring singles, and they both scored on Daniel Rivera’s triple to center.
Coach Toth and Bingaman praised Martinez for doing an excellent job on defense. Toth said Martinez blocked a lot of balls in the dirt, which made things more comfortable for Bingaman.
“The second time I faced their batters, I threw more curves and change-ups,” said Bingaman, a junior who has committed to attend Auburn in 2025.
