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There was a stretch where Guillen struggled at the plate and entered a funk “for about 10-14 days, so we pulled him out of the lineup,� said Salpointe head coach Danny Preble.

“We stuck a freshman out there at shortstop and (Guillen) didn’t play,� Preble said. “He took a step back, figured out what was going on, made some adjustments and he’s been really hot since then.

“For a senior, a guy that has been starting for us for three years and has played in big games, to get benched during his senior year — furthermore, to get sat down for a freshman, he continued to be a great team guy and show up to practice and bust his butt every day and figure out where he was struggling. When he got his chance to get back into the lineup, he didn’t give it back up.�

Guillen, who was named a first-team 4A All-Kino Region selection, has Salpointe’s top batting average (.467) this season with a minimum of 15 at-bats. Guillen also has the best slugging percentage (.750) and on-base percentage (.553) at Salpointe; both marks are Top 3 in the Kino Region.

Guillen led the top-seeded Lancers to the 4A state title game against 14th-seeded Flagstaff on Monday night at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Salpointe was the only Tucson-area baseball team to make it to a state championship game this season.

Guillen’s first name was given to him by his grandmother. In the bible, Aciel is Hebrew for “God created.� Guillen, who has four siblings, has roots in Agua Prieta, Mexico near the border, where his dad grew up before emigrating to the U.S.

Guillen started playing baseball when he was just 3 years old, and “I just fell in love with it,� he said.

“I became good at it and decided to keep playing,� said Guillen. “Baseball was a way to bond with my friends. Ever since I was little, that was all I knew.�

Guillen played a majority of his youth baseball games in Sunnyside Little League at Mission Manor Park. As a 12-year-old, Guillen was one of the top players on the Sunnyside Little League team that went to the Little League Western Regional Tournament in 2019 and nearly went to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series, but fell to the Maui-based Hawaii team, 4-1, in San Bernardino, California.

Playing games on ESPN “was quite nerve-wracking and I wanted to look good,� Guillen said.

Sunnyside won its semifinal game over Maidu (Northern California) at the Western Regional Tournament in walk-off fashion after Izaiah Moraga, who is also a senior at Salpointe and was named Kino Defensive Player of the Year, hit a game-tying home run before Michel Muniz Jr., who’s now at Sunnyside, slapped an RBI double to win the game and advance.

“That was a pretty emotional experience for all of us,� Guillen said of the walk-off win. “It was an amazing game.�

On the cusp of going to the Little League World Series, “really opened up our eyes and showed us there’s some good competition around the country and around the world,� especially pitching, said Guillen.

“There’s a lot of good pitchers out there and I struggled to hit in the tournament,� he said.

After Guillen started his high school career, success from the past became irrelevant.

“We try to start with a clean slate,� Preble said. “We don’t care what you’ve done. It sounds harsh, but any of those hits and strikeouts you got or those trophies you got before you get here, it doesn’t do anything for us. You have to show up and put it on the field for this team.�

The demand of greatness, regardless of past success, is why the Lancers have punched their ticket to seven straight state championships.

“We get a bunch of good kids that come into our program and they buy in,� Preble said. “The success and traditions that we’ve had over the last 15-20 years in this program, it speaks for itself. We’re always in the mix and we’re always playing in May. I shouldn’t say it so arrogantly, because it’s a fortunate situation and there’s some luck involved, but we have really good players that buy into the process and it shows up in games. With that, it shows up in the postseason.�

It showed up in Salpointe’s 8-5 win over rival Ironwood Ridge at Hi Corbett Field last week, when Guillen had one of the Lancers’ two inside-the-park home runs. With Salpointe trailing 2-0 and a runner on first base, Ironwood Ridge intentionally walked the previous batter, putting two runners on base. Guillen blasted the ball to left-center field and took the lead, 3-2.

“I wouldn’t say I took it offensively, but I wanted to do some damage there, because we had runners in scoring position and we were down in the game,� Guillen said. “I got a fastball and pieced it up pretty well. I knew immediately it was going far and I was getting extra bases from that. I knew the game wasn’t over and we had to keep going, but it was exciting getting the lead there.�

Throughout his time at Salpointe, Guillen said hitting and “the mental side of the game� have been the two most notable improvements in his game.

“I was pretty naive,� Guillen said. “I was around some really good players and coaches who helped me grow mentally. I changed mentally as a player and went through a lot, just facing hard competition and changing the way I think. The competition here improves you.�

Preble said Guillen “has great skills and he’s got great hands, he can throw the ball very really well and he runs like a deer.�

“With natural maturation, he’s gotten a lot stronger and can beat people at Hi Corbett,� Preble said. “His biggest improvement has been the mental side. There would be stretches where he would struggle as a freshman and sophomore, then he would go into the tank and his struggles would be amplified. Now, he learned from it.�

Guillen’s favorite moment at Salpointe isn’t a specific memory on the field, “but the people I’ve been with, because they made it super fun and enjoyable.�

Guillen is graduating from Salpointe this month and will begin his college journey at Pima Community College, where he’ll study mechanical engineering. The Aztecs are 211-82 (.720) since 2020 under head coach Ken Jacome. The toughest adjustment, according to Preble, will be the physically and mentally taxing season that has more games in comparison to the high school level.

“At the college level, you play 56 games no matter what on top of whatever you do in the fall,� Preble said. “I think we do a good job of preparing guys for the college grind. Until you’ve gone through it, you can’t understand it. ... It’s a totally different grind and it’s not something he has ever done before.�

At the junior college level, Preble is “expecting better competition and I’m hoping to become a way better baseball player,� he said.

“I hope to get a better future and get more out of this sport,� he said. “I’ve dedicated myself to this, just school and baseball.�

Fast Five with Aciel

Who is your all-time favorite baseball player?

A: “I really like (Javier) Baez growing up. I first saw him with the Cubs. I saw him fielding and he had a few good plays when I saw him, he was hitting pretty good. I don’t keep up with players too much, but he was one I enjoyed to watch play.�

Do you have a favorite baseball team?

A: “I don’t really have a favorite team. ... I keep up with the Diamondbacks. I want to see them win.�

What is your go-to postgame meal?

A: “I always go chicken or me and the boys like to go out to McDonald’s after games or practices. We go there to celebrate a win or celebrate something. We get everything and like to try everything.�

Who is one pitcher you’d like to bat against?

A: “Probably (Jacob) deGrom.�

Do you have any pregame or in-game rituals?

A: “I actually don’t like to be superstitious during the game. I’m not really a superstitious player, but I’ll go out of my way to break habits and routines. It’s pretty rare for an athlete to not be superstitious, but I don’t like to be superstitious. I don’t really like to rely on all that.�