Arredondo Discovers Speaking Up Is Golden

VAN NUYS —  When Simon says he’s tired, his coach listens.

Trouble is, Simon Arredondo only recently began to speak up.

Arredondo, a lanky sophomore right-hander for San Fernando High, raised his voice at the right time and the Tigers rose to a 5-2 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday in the Gold Division final of the Birmingham baseball tournament.

Arredondo (1-0) limited the Knights to four hits and two runs through 5 1/3 innings. But after throwing 60 pitches, Arredondo made an abrupt exit in the sixth after allowing a leadoff walk to Kevin Stromsborg.

“He told me he was tired,” San Fernando Coach Armando Gomez said. “At this point in the season, we’re not going to use him too much.”

In two previous starts, Arredondo kept his fatigue to himself, fearing coaches and teammates would consider him soft. But with the temperature rising and San Fernando (9-3) on the verge of winning the tournament title for the second consecutive year, Arredondo deferred to the advice of his coach.

“A couple of games, I didn’t say anything,” Arredondo said. “But this is an important game and I didn’t want to blow it.”

Junior Eric Meza entered, retired the side and held Notre Dame (8-4) to two hits the rest of the way. With runners in scoring position in the seventh, Meza struck out Adam Boyd and retired Sean Hanrahan on a groundout to end the game.

Arredondo, despite his youth, is the team’s ace, Gomez said.

“He’s the pup and he knows it,” Gomez said. “But if there is anybody who is going to take us to Dodger Stadium [for the City Section final], it’s gonna be him.”

Sophomore Ryan Cowsill (1-1) of Notre Dame matched Arredondo for 4 2/3 innings and might have came out ahead if not for some sloppy fielding by the Knights.

San Fernando, aided by two of Notre Dame’s four errors, scored three unearned runs in the fifth to break open a tie game.

“If we give [Cowsill] any kind of support, he’s going to win,” Notre Dame Coach Tom Dill said. “We didn’t make them earn it, we gave it to them.”

Cowsill allowed five hits and struck out three. San Fernando led, 1-0, after an inning and added an unearned run in the second.

“Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t,” Cowsill said. “It just wasn’t our day.”