Westchester Gears for Grudge Match Against Claremont

The Westchester American Legion baseball team will seek a measure of revenge today when it plays Claremont at 2 p.m. in the first round of the Area 6 playoffs at UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Westchester (19-3), made up primarily of players from Westchester and St. Bernard high schools, advanced to the playoffs after compiling a 16-0 record in District 24 play. Claremont (35-9-2) qualified by winning its sixth consecutive District 18 title.

Today’s game marks a rematch of last year’s first-round game, in which Claremont’s Matt Wise pitched his team to a 4-2 victory in the double-elimination tournament. Westchester was knocked out of competition in the second round by Encino-Crespi.

“Revenge will definitely be on my mind,” Westchester first baseman Tremayne Noles said. “Last year’s (first-round loss) kind of set the tone for the tournament, so it’ll be on my mind. We need to get this first win and then we can just go game by game.”

Scheduled to start for Westchester is Robby Green (5-1, 1.24 ERA), an All-Mission League selection last season at Loyola High who will play for Creighton University next year. Wise (11-0, 0.95) will once again pitch for Claremont.

“(Green)’s got a good curveball and he spots his fastball well,” Westchester Coach Todd Frelinger said. “He throws a lot of strikes, gets ahead of a lot of hitters. Robby’s very competitive, very tough. He’s definitely been our best pitcher all year long.”

Wise, who reportedly throws in the high 80s, was drafted in the 53rd round of this year’s amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners but decided to play for Pepperdine. In 76 innings, Wise has 99 strikeouts and only 12 walks. He also has three saves.

Despite Wise’s numbers, Noles, a sophomore at El Camino College, is not concerned about having to face the 6-foot-4 right-hander for the second year in a row.

“I hit Wise pretty hard last year, so I’m not too worried about him,” said Noles, who went one-for-three with a triple in the 4-2 loss. “He’s a good pitcher, but we can’t go in there thinking we can’t hit him. We’ve got to go in there thinking we can hit him, that we can hit anybody.”

Westchester, which plays its home games at Jackie Robinson Stadium, cruised through its 16-game league schedule and posted a 3-0 nonleague victory over El Segundo, the Bay-Pacific League champion. But Westchester ran into trouble in its only nonleague tournament. Playing in 100-plus degree heat in Las Vegas in late June, the team won two games but also suffered its only three losses of the season.

“We went 16-0 in league, but we still haven’t played anyone,” Green said. “So far, we haven’t really had any competition. I think that may be our biggest problem going into the playoffs, now that we’re going to face some tougher competition.”

Westchester, with a team batting average of .341, is led by left fielder Henry Jones. The Westchester High player leads the team in batting average (.409) and on-base percentage (.613). Right fielder Eric Hidy of Loyola High is batting .400.

Completing the six-team tournament field are Beverly Hills, Woodland Hills East, Woodland Hills West and Ventura. If Westchester beats Claremont, it will play the Woodland Hills West-Ventura winner at 6 p.m. Friday.

The championship game is scheduled for noon Sunday. The winner of the tournament advances to the state tournament in Yountville, followed by the American Legion World Series in Roseburg, Ore., in late August.