Above: Sabrina Anguiano struck out nine and went the distance in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over St. Paul. Bishop Amat improved to 10-12 overall while St. Paul dropped to 14-9.

By Aram Tolegian
Kim Hernandez hit a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and send Bishop AmatHigh School to a 2-1 victory over rival St. Paul on Tuesday afternoon. The win improved Amat to 10-12 overall and kept its stranglehold on second place in the Del Rey League where the Lancers are 6-2. St. Paul fell to 14-9 overall and 3-4 in league.
“Being a senior, this was my second-to-last home game and I just wanted to pull through for my team,” Hernandez said. “I knew it was gone when I hit it. I felt the power. I was just thankful. My team is always there for me and they always pick me up, so it feels good to pick them up.
Freshman Sabrina Anguiano went the distance and recorded nine strikeouts to get the win. But it wasn’t without a little drama in the seventh before the Lancers celebrate.

West Covina 8, Rowland 1: West Covina High School looked to be in trouble, but the Bulldogs instead had visiting Rowland right where they wanted. Alyse Gutierrez had a fourth-inning grand slam and West Covina overcame a one-run deficit en route to an 8-1 victory over Rowland in a key San Antonio League softball game on Tuesday. The Bulldogs, who also received a home run from Yvette Cano and a solid effort in the circle from Dekota Monarrez, improved to 14-6 overall and 6-2 in league play.

Northview wins 7-2: Northview High School took over sole possession of first place in the Valle Vista League softball standings on Tuesday. The Vikings, with a team batting average of .447, struggled early but sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth inning. They scored four runs to break open a close game and knock off Covina 7-2. The win gave the Vikings (15-5, 9-1) a one-game lead over San Dimas and a 1 1/2-game lead over the Colts.
“I think it has something to do with this field,” Vikings coach Jeff Butler said. “I’ve been at Northview for six years and they always give us fits here. We have a great hitting team so I don’t know if it was butterflies or whatever because we knew the importance of the game.”