Damien and St. Lucy’s high schools lost their appeal last Wednesday to stay put in the Sierra League for all sports.

The CIF executive committee outvoted representatives from the single-gender schools, 14-6, and Damien and St. Lucy’s will be forced to move into a parochial league for the 2014-15 sports season.

School representatives say that this is unfair; that the league targeted the only 2 Catholic schools because they thought Damien and St. Lucy’s somehow had an unfair advantage in the sports arena.

What impact this will have on the CHS sports program is unknown. Claremont softball Coach Vince Hernandez commented on the decision.

“The decision won’t really affect us, as we are pretty even with the St. Lucy’s team,”?he said. “It all depends on whether they replace that team with another. It is a strange move, I didn’t see anything wrong with them being in our division; however, they are strong at other sports so it may mean more wins for CHS teams.”

CHS softball drops league game to big-hitting Chino Hills

It was another tough day for the Lady Wolfpack as they took on the Chino Hills Huskies Tuesday. After dropping a close one to St. Lucy’s, 3-1 last Thursday, Claremont hosted the first place Huskies at home. The Pack allowed Chino Hills to score 4 runs in the third inning and were not able to recover, losing 7-2.

Claremont Coach Vince Hernandez reflected on the year thus far.

“We have made huge strides since last year. Our defense has been solid, but I always say that we can hit better. I will keep working with the girls on their mechanics and we will do our best to turn this thing around.”

Chloe Amarilla took the mound for the Wolfpack, matched up against the Huskies’ Patricia Parks. Amarilla settled into the game quickly, getting out of the first frame without any damage done. However, Chino Hills hitting picked up in the second and third innings.

The Huskies trio of Brittney Garcia, Melissa Garcia, and Brianna Viles each knocked in a run, and Brianna Viles added an RBI single to push Chino Hills out in front 5-0.

Claremont responded in the bottom half of the third when second baseman Kiana Moreno knocked a base hit to center, and moved to second base after an Amarilla single. Catcher Brittany Attaway then took a low fastball and drove it into the outfield to bring Moreno home, and put the Wolfpack on the scoreboard.

Melanie Lauer took over on the mound for Claremont, and pitched 3 scoreless innings. Amarilla had previously struck out 3 batters, but allowed 6 hits and 3 walks. Meanwhile, for Chino Hills, Parks put together a 5-strikeout, 5-hit performance before being replaced by Savanna Corr in the fifth inning. Corr threw 2 scoreless innings, getting out of a jam with 2 runners on base.

“We had a few mistakes here and there, but we hit the ball well today,”?Coach Hernandez said. “We just couldn’t hit the ball well with runners on base. But I have faith that it will start coming around.”

CHS scored a consolation run in the bottom of the final inning. With 2 out, Amarilla singled through the infield, then stole second base. Attaway came up to bat and pulled a single into right field, Amarilla coming around to score. Unfortunately, Claremont could not muster any more runs and fell to their second league defeat.

Claremont will play 7 more league games this season, and they need to win the majority of those in order to make the CIF playoffs. The Lady Wolfpack have a lot of work to do to reach the postseason, starting with games against Charter Oak and the 12-4 South Hills Huskies. Claremont’s next home game is against Ayala on Tuesday, April 23 at 3:30 p.m.

“I have 4 solid pitchers that I feel confident I can start, so I will keep rotating them,”?Coach Hernandez said. “Our defense I am not worried about, we will just have to make a few adjustments in positioning to minimize mistakes. Our program is moving forward rapidly, and the girls are always excited to compete.”

—Chris Oakley

sports@claremont-courier.com