By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

There isn’t a scintilla of hyperbole in saying that Thomas Arnst left the Marshall Fundamental baseball program much better off than when he found it four years ago.

And before going any further, Arnst would want you to know that his teammates and coaches had just as much to do with the program’s ascension as he did.

But after going 12-31 overall in 2017 and 2018 combined, everything changed for Arnst and the Eagles during his junior year in 2019.

Arnst (6-4), a 6-foot-1, 140-pound sidearm right-hander, teamed up with senior Alex Nava (6-3) and freshman Travis Delgado (3-1) on the mound, and the Eagles’ trio combined to go 14-8.

Arnst, Nava, Delgado and the rest of the staff had a collective 2.32 team ERA, and they had little room for error, because the Eagles hit just .230 as a ballclub.

It also happened to be the year that Arnst took the suggestion to start pitching sidearm and it not only improved his results, it helped the now 18-year old in keeping his arm feeling vibrant, not to mention his control got much better as well.

Before 2019, the program’s high-water mark was 12 wins in 2014, and even then, Marshall went 2-4 in Mission Valley League games.

The Eagles won their last three MVL games in 2019, including a 2-1, nine-inning victory over Gabrielino and a 3-0 win over second-place Arroyo to finish off the regular season on a high note.

Delgado went the distance and blanked the Knights in the MVL finale.

And then it was off to the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs.

Marshall earned victories over Ojai Valley (16-1), Tarbut V’ Torah (9-0), Bosco Tech (3-2) and defeated MVL foe Rosemead, 12-4, to earn a spot in the D-7 title game.

Over the first four postseason wins, Arnst was on top of his game.

He went six innings, allowing just an unearned run, didn’t walk a batter and fanned seven against Ojai Valley.

He threw one scoreless inning of relief to close out the Tarbut V’ Torah win and then shut down Bosco Tech in a complete-game effort.

In that quarterfinal win, Arnst was charged with just one earned run, he didn’t walk a batter and struck out five more.

And then, in the semifinal victory over Rosemead, Arnst clinched the win with four innings of scoreless relief.

Unfortunately, four days later, the Eagles’ defense didn’t play well and surrendered eight unearned runs in a 10-run defeat to Arroyo.

But even a collective CIF title game falter couldn’t take away from the momentous and historic season.

The 16 team wins in 2019 is the most Marshall has claimed since at least 2005, and the only reason we can only account for the last 16 years is because MaxPreps only dates back to then.

The Eagles’ seven MVL victories was also a high-water mark over that same stretch.

Arnst finished his junior year having walked 20 and striking out 71, and he boasted a very impressive and team-low ERA of 1.63.

That brings us to 2020, where the Eagles went 6-3-1 and those three losses all came by one run apiece to Temple City, Muir and South Pasadena.

The 6-6 tie came on March 6th, in the MVL opener with Gabrielino.

Arnst was off to a great start, going 3-1, with a 1.25 ERA.

He walked two and struck out 15 batters.

Ironically, before the season was ripped from under their feet, Arnst was also contributing mightily in an area he had failed to do so in the past, and that was with a bat in his hand.

In his first three years playing for coach Joe Federico, Arnst hit .206, .113 and 0.48, respectively.

In 2020, though, through the first 10 games, the Eagles’ senior batted .435, with 10 hits, he scored three runs and drove in four.

His batting average was tops for Marshall and his 10 base hits tied Travis Delgado for the team lead.

We all know how the story ends in this saga, with the Coronavirus knocking the world down to its knees, but even a pandemic can’t change the fact that Arnst, his teammates and coaches worked diligently for four years and they collectively raised the bar for both expectations and excellence.

These days, Arnst spends a lot of time playing Fortnite, Call of Duty, watching Netflix from time to time and playing catch with his older brother, Matthew, who is a junior at Cal Berkeley.

Thomas got to play his freshman year with then senior Matthew Arnst, and he credits his big brother with helping him become a competent infielder.

He regrets not being able to finish out what was destined to be a great season and he misses his teammates immensely, but the appreciation he has for them and the experiences built up over the past four years is something he’s focusing on.

Arnst will head to San Jose State in the fall to continue his baseball career.

He said his parents, Denise and Jeff, have always been supportive of anything he’s done and that they don’t say ‘no’ very often. It’s not because they aren’t active parents, it’s because they trust their son to do the right things, and he hasn’t let them down.

Arnst said his parents work their butts off and taught him to be a responsible and respectful young man.

We asked Arnst to give us some final thoughts on his more than solid high school run.

Said Thomas Arnst: “We wanted to leave the program better off than we found it. When we came in, he (Coach Federico) saw something special in us. Anthony Hammack and John Ward and I played all four years together and we really turned the corner our junior year when freshman Travis Delgado, Sam Karp and Alex Chew came in and contributed right away.

Offensively, I began to improve because Coach Campbell helped me fix my swing and I’d work on it over the weekend’s to fine tune my approach at the plate. I want my coaches and teammates to know how much I valued my time with them and how great it feels to know we started at the bottom and worked our way up the ladder together. It’s been a great ride. We were often times taken lightly and we enjoyed working together to prove many people and our opponents wrong.”

Quotable:

Marshall Fundamental coach Joe Federico: “I feel bad for him, because he was on his way to have another great pitching year, but he was also doing a great job hitting. As a pitcher, he is a hard guy to score runs off. He pounds the zone and his pitches have a ton of movement, which makes it difficult for the other team to get back to back hits. Having a big inning against him didn’t happen. The other teams’ best players would beg me not to pitch him against them. After our games, we meet with the players and talk about the game and every game that Thomas pitches I would end up saying the same thing, “Thomas, just another great pitching performance!” I didn’t say it sometimes because it was a given. Not once was his outing average or below, he was always excellent. If we lost a game he was pitching, it wasn’t Thomas’ fault.”

Eagles’ sophomore, Travis Delgado: “Thomas was our quiet leader. He always did the right thing and led our stretches and workouts. When we went to restaurants as a team, Thomas was the guy in charge. He was very quiet, but always knew when to speak up when we were being bad. At the same time, he was very funny and brought positivity. When it was Thomas’ turn to start, we always knew we would have a shot to win the game because the score would be low. What I respect most about him as a teammate and person is that he always did the right thing and worked really hard to be the best player he could be, and came through in the clutch for us during his career.”

Eagles’ senior, Anthony Hammack: “Thomas is a true competitor, who was always working on his game. He put all of his effort into all things baseball, whether it was warmups, practice, or games. Off of the field, he’s a supportive and helpful teammate, and one of my best friends.”

Eagles’ junior, Alex Chew: “Thomas was the type of teammate that wouldn’t let the score of the game affect his mentality on the mound. The whole team knew that we could count on him to pitch a good game against the toughest of our opponents and to put up a quality at-bat. The thing I respect most about him is his ability to control the game at his own tempo and his consistency as a pitcher.”

Eagles’ freshman, Nick Chew: “Thomas was a leader on our team. He was an excellent pitcher and he led our team in batting average. He was a big part of our defense and offense. Thomas was a great teammate that always had a positive mindset.”

Thomas Arnst Career Stats:

2020: (Hitting) .435, 10 hits, three runs, four RBIs

2020: (Pitching) 3-1, 1.25 ERA, 2 walks, 15 strikeouts

2019: .048, one hit

2019: 6-4, 1.63 ERA, 20 walks, 71 strikeouts

2018: .113, six hits, nine runs, two RBIs

2018: (win-loss), 2.15 ERA, one walk, 14 strikeouts

2017: .206, seven hits, eight runs, four RBIs

Marshall Fundamental’s Recent Baseball Records:

2020: 6-3-1 overall, 0-0-1 in Mission Valley League

2019: 16-9-1, 7-4-1

2018: 7-14, 5-7

2017: 5-17, 4-8

2016: 4-15, 4-14

2015: 8-13, 5-7

2014: 12-9, 2-4

To view Thomas’ photo gallery, click Facebook link here: (3) Facebook