The Claremont High School baseball team lost their Palomares League game against visiting Glendora High on Wednesday, 4-1.

Glendora got on the scoreboard in the first inning when senior Nick Kaye singled to left field and stole second. With two outs, senior Raymond Romo hit a single, scoring Kaye. The inning could have been worse, but Claremont left fielder Jeremiah Maldonado snagged a long fly ball hit by senior Alex Briggs for the third out.

Glendora scored again in the second with some good plays and good calls from the coaching staff. Senior Race Gardner started the inning off with a single that was almost caught by pitcher Tyler Witt. Then the Tartans put Gardner in scoring position with a sacrifice bunt by junior Devin Rodgers. Next up, junior Caleb Watkins ripped one to center field that nearly went out of the park, but settled for a triple nonetheless and the RBI.

Down by two, Claremont looked like they were on a comeback in the bottom of the second when sophomore Kyle Scalmanini singled on the first pitch of the inning. However, junior Jack Pavlisin’s attempted sacrifice bunt was popped up for the out. Next, sophomore Matt Hohn was hit by a pitch (the first of two to hit him during the game) and Claremont was in business with one out and two runners on base. Unfortunately for the Pack, Glendora’s pitcher, senior Ryan Beyer, struck out the next two batters and Claremont went scoreless.

Claremont got their only run in the third inning when Beyer walked senior Trent Troncone, then gave up a single to sophomore Jake Gentry, advancing Troncone to third. Next up, junior Cole Prentice hit a long fly ball to right field and Troncone tagged for the sacrifice.

Claremont had a big chance in the fifth when the lead-off hitter senior Isaiah Montoya, hit a long fly over the left fielder’s head for a double. Ryan Betancourt then hit a ground ball single up the middle, prompting Montoya to advance to third, but he was tagged out.

The two hits prompted Glendora coach Don Henley to pull Beyer, replacing him with sophomore Hayden Pearce. The gamble seemed to work as he struck out Troncone and got Gentry to ground out, ending the inning unscathed.

Glendora scored again in the sixth with an RBI double from Gardner scoring junior Nolan Collett, who had taken base with a single. They got their last run in the seventh with some very clever base running from Rodgers, who stole two bases and then tagged from third.

The key to the Tartans’ victory came through the execution of clutch plays and good base running, the same areas where the Pack struggled. Claremont left nearly 10 runners on base, giving up multiple chances to even the score. Other factors contributing to the loss were the absence of first baseman Chandler Boldig who was out with an injury, and Troncone’s bat was unusually quiet.

Still, the Pack played a solid game, anchored by a fine performance from senior Witt on the mound. In six innings he gave up six hits, three runs, struck out four and walked only two. Montoya and Prentice had a good day defensively, as did Scalmanini who made an amazing catch on a long fly ball in right field.

The Pack has just five more games, two at home, and faces Glendora again on Friday. Claremont’s record is now 3-7 in league and 8-10 overall.

—Steven Felschundneff 

steven@claremont-courier.com

CHS WEEKLY ROUNDUP

TRACK AND FIELD

The Claremont High School girls track team won their meet against Bonita on Tuesday by 77-59, while the boys lost to the Bearcats, 84-52.

Distance runners continue to anchor Claremont’s effort with a sweep of the 3200-meter and the 800-meter event as well as a sweep of the medium distance 400-meter race.

In the 3200-meter race Janelle Baeskens took first, Jax Heckers second and Alex Gushue third, while in the 800-meter Annie Boos won followed by Julia Cantrell and Danielle Murrietta. Victor of the 400-meter race was Kylie Robinson, with Kyla Morris in second and Melissa Cerrillos close behind in third. Boos also won the 1600-meter race followed by Rounds in third.

Claremont’s sprinters were hot on Tuesday as well,  with Emily Spivack winning the 100-meter hurdles and Alexa Tisopulos taking third. Robinson added another victory to her day by winning the 200-meter event. Brittney Duquette got second in the 100-meter sprint followed by Alyssa Cantrell at second. Spivack and Alyssa Cantrell took second and third in the 300-meter hurdles.

In field events, Abby Holt took second in the high jump and third in the long jump. Lyling Irwin and Natalie Nguyen were second and third in the pole vault. Cerrillos and Julia Cantrell took second and third in the triple jump. Edwina Mambou was third in discus.

Last but certainly not least, the team of Alyssa Cantrell, Duquette, Natalia Lopez and Kyra Tisopulas won the 4 x 100 meter relay.

The boys had some stand out performances even if the meet victory eluded them.

Ira Clark, Donovan Robinson, Thomas Beck, Duy Tran Sampson placed first in 4 x 100-meter relay. Tran Sampson also took second in the 200-meter and third in the 100-meter event. Robinson took second in triple jump and Beck was second in the 400-meter.

Other standout performances include Jonah Ross,  who won the 1600-meter race and was third in the 800. Kyle Duckering who got second in shot put and third in the discus. Bryan Brown took second in the long jump.

GOLF

Tuesday was the final home match for Claremont boys golf and they lost a close match with Bonita, 195-205, at Marshall Canyon Golf Course. Jonathan Yoo shot the Pack’s lowest score with a 38, followed by Matt Stanford at 39, Paul Yu at 41, Andrew Im at 43, Kyle Cohen at 44 and Tyler Yang at 45.

The boys move on to play in the Palomares League finals on Thursday at Los Serranos Golf Course. 

SOFTBALL

Girls softball lost to Bonita 8-4 at CHS but beat South Hills last Friday 3-2. The girls record is now 2-3 in league and 9-6 overall, they face Ayala at home on Friday.