Damien dropped their record down to 12-10 on Friday, which also ended the team's four-game streak of wins at home. They took a 7-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Chino Hills Huskies. Unfortunately, that's the third time they've come up short against the Huskies this season, with their most recent defeat being a 1-0 loss on Wednesday.
Russell Del Castillo
| 04/03/25 @ Yorba Linda | 2 |
| 04/17/25 @ Upland | 1 |
| 04/12/25 vs Etiwanda | 1 |
Russell Del Castillo was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched 5.1 innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Damien is 5-2 when he allows at most two walks, but 7-8 otherwise.
At the plate, Gino Tarzia was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
As for Chino Hills, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games.
On Chino Hills' side, they got a great performance from Aydan Maxson as he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Josh Mendez, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jacob Jimenez, who went 3-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
We've got plenty of inter-league action coming up soon. Damien will face off against rival Los Osos at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, Chino Hills is set to challenge their familiar foe Rancho Cucamonga at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Huskies 4, the Cougars 1.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
