Pitching perfection

Former Claremont High School graduate and current Cleveland Indians minor league pitcher Justin Germano became the first Columbus Clipper player in team history to throw a perfect game last night against the Syracuse Chiefs.

The hurler threw 95 pitches (69 strikes) en route to leading his team to a 3-0 shutout on Wednesday and is now just the 5th player to record a perfect game in International League history. Germano racked up 7 strikeouts in the contest with the last one ending the game when the Chiefs' Corey Brown watched the final pitch zoom by.

Germano made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres in 2004 and started 23 games for the team in 2007. Earlier this season, the 28-year-old made 9 appearances for the Indians before being sent to the Triple-A level Columbus Clippers in mid-May. He has since lowered his earned run average (ERA) from 5.68 when he played for the Indians to an impressive 2.42 ERA to date with the Clippers.

Congratulations to Germano for his historic performance and check below for a pair of videos showing the final out of last night's game and also the team celebration.

Claremont 14U Faspitch takes on fundraising challenge

After qualifying for the America Softball Association Fastpitch Western National Tournament nearly 2 weeks ago, the Claremont 14-and-Under All-Star team is faced with another challenge before the August event.

The team is holding a series of fundraisers to cover the cost of attending the tournament in Spokane, Washington from August 1-7. The next fundraiser is a yard sale that will take place this Saturday at 1532 Lafayette Road in Claremont from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It was the support of the Claremont community that allowed the 10U, 12U and 14U teams to participate in last year's Western Nationals. The 14U is inviting the community to participate in Saturday's yard sale and also will accept donated items to sale.

For more information on the upcoming event, contact team representative Wendy McCord at (909) 938-0536.

Wolfpack wins consolation prize in passing tourney

(Photo courtesy of Claremont HS Football)

The Claremont Wolfpack football team defeated Summit High School (Fontana) on Saturday to win the consolation award of the 17th Annual Claremont Varsity Passing Tournament.

Hosted by Claremont, the passing tournament is a 7-on-7 competition during the summer that allows more than 20 teams to test their pass offense and defense against other schools from the Inland Empire, Los Angeles area and Orange County. Etiwanda won the tournament this year by defeating Villa Park in the championship game.

After winning the tournament in 2009, Claremont improved from a 2-8 record in 2008 to a 5-5 record that fall. The Pack went 7-3 in 2010 and reached the playoffs for the first time in several years.

Claremont will open the 2011 season at home against Ontario on September 5th at 7:30 p.m.