Carson Prevails With Rally in 11th, 9-8 : Prep baseball: Eran Taulua drives in tying run and scores winning run in hard-fought victory over Banning.

Carson High catcher Carlos Delatorre drove home Eran Taulua with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Colts a dramatic 9-8 victory over Banning in a Southern Pacific Conference game at Carson on Wednesday.

Taulua, whose double had tied the score two batters earlier, touched home plate at 7:17 p.m., four hours and 17 minutes after the game started.

Banning’s Carlos Garibay had put the Pilots ahead, 8-7, in the top half of the inning, singling home Armando Velasquez, who had reached on an error.

But Jason Lowery led off the bottom half of the inning with a bunt single that Banning pitcher Jose Flores couldn’t handle. Taulua followed with a towering double to center field that scored Lowery.

After Frank Villareal moved Taulua to third with a ground out, Delatorre smacked a hit to left to score Taulua.

“I just did my job in that situation--put the ball in play,� Delatorre said.

Both Delatorre and Taulua got their clutch hits on first-pitch fastballs.

“I was just trying to finish this game,� Taulua said.

Even if the game had gone the regulation seven innings, it would have been a long one. There were six pitching changes and several other trips to the mound.

“It seemed for a while like no one wanted to win it,� Banning Coach Syl Saavedra said.

Carson improved to 11-6 and 7-2 in the conference.

The Pilots (9-6, 7-2) continue to struggle when Garibay is not pitching for them. Garibay has seven of the Pilots’ wins this year, including a 3-1 complete-game victory over Carson at Banning on Monday.

While Carson and Banning were beating up on each other, San Pedro (9-0 in the Southern Pacific) took a two-game lead in the conference standings. Banning plays a home-and-home series against San Pedro next week.

“This was a big win for us,� Carson Coach Mike Kline said. “If we had lost this one after losing to them on Monday, we probably would have gone into the tank. We were halfway in there to begin with.�

Banning, which scored six runs in the first four innings, seemed to be cruising to a second consecutive victory over the Colts. But Carson scored three times in the sixth off Flores, who entered the game in relief of starter Nick Kavathas, to take a 7-6 lead.

Meanwhile, Colts’ reliever Charnes Arnold shut down the Pilots, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

Banning tied the score in the top of the seventh when Carson reliever Edgar Lopez made two errors on a Velasquez bunt to allow Jose Morales to score from second.

Nobody scored again until Garibay’s line drive in the top of the 11th.

“It was a gutsy performance by both teams,� Saavedra said. “It’s the kind of game the young players can learn from.�

Tempers flared at times during the game, as there were seven hit batsmen and some taunting between players. But neither coach accused the other of purposely throwing at opposing batters.

“Our pitchers just can’t throw strikes,� Kline said.