Duarte, CA—Moments like these only seem to happen in the movies.
At Duarte High School, during the late fifth inning, as the Falcons came back from a two run deficit to take a 5-4 lead, Yellowjackets interim manager and school Athletic Director Mike Reh arrived at the game after having had surgery on a torn Achilles tendon just hours earlier. Reh sustained the injury on Monday at the end of the game against University Prep.
Arriving on crutches, Reh took his seat on the bench, put his casted leg up on a foldable chair, and shouted encouragement to his players.
As if on cue, in the sixth inning the Yellowjackets blew the doors off the game, scoring eight runs. They added three more in the top of the seventh to win the game 15-5 and move on to the CIF playoff semifinals next Tuesday against Fillmore High School.
Mateo Barboza was moved by Coach Reh’s arrival. “It just shows that he believes in us.”
Barboza led the charge in the sixth inning, hitting a two-run double that scored Kyle Mejia and Steven Aguayo that put the Yellowjackets ahead for good.
Until that moment, the game did not look like it was going to be an easy victory.
The Yellowjackets, fresh off their victory over University Prep, started off strong, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Senior Christopher Trevino hit a two-run single and Andy Hernandez sacrificed a deep fly ball to drive in the third run.
Duarte started to chip away at the lead, scoring one run in the bottom of the first, then adding a second in the third to cut to Yellowjacket lead to 3-2.
Colton took advantage of some sloppy play by the Falcons in the fifth inning to go back up 4-2 only to give up the lead when junior Jaime Talavera hit a two-run RBI single to give the Falcons the 5-4 advantage.
Those were the last runs Duarte would score.
Colton brought 11 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth, pouring on the runs against pitcher Esai Trejo, then taking advantage of a passed ball on a called third strike against Evan Darrington that scored Barboza. That rattled reliever Alexander Perez, who gave up a hit to Isaac Padilla, a walk to Kyle Mejia, and another two-run single to Steven Aguayo.
In the seventh inning, Andres Hernandez made sure there would be no comeback for the Falcons as he hit his first home run as a high school student, a three-run shot well over the center field fence.
“I was down all day, I couldn’t get a hit,” said Hernandez after the game. “Then I had an adrenaline rush and smoked the ball over center field.”
On the mound, Steven Aguayo got the start and pitched six tough innings. The Falcons kept making good contact, tagging him for six hits, but none for extra bases. Aguayo also made sure not to give the Falcons many freebies, only walking two.
“I just knew how to shove and throw strikes,” Aguayo said.
CHS Principal John Abbott made the trip to the game, riding the bus with the team. He was impressed by the team’s performance. “I saw a lot of heart, a lot of grit, some boys having fun playing the game they love.”
But the story of the night was the dramatic return of coach Reh. And in his humble fashion, he made sure to clarify that this victory was about the team.
“It’s been a rocky water season for them,” Reh said about the team, “and the water is smoothing out and they’re reaping the benefits from it.”
Now the top-seeded Colton Yellowjackets will face off against Fillmore High School, who won a close 3-2 game against La Quinta High (Westminster). Fillmore comes into the game 12-7 on the season, fourth place in the Citrus Coast league.
The game will take place on Tuesday, May 27 at 3:15 p.m. at Colton High.
