Santa Clara Loses Player, Assistant

The Santa Clara High baseball team will play its Southern Section 2-A Division wild-card playoff game against Paso Robles today in Oxnard without second baseman Mark Hardy, who quit Monday after his father George, an assistant coach, left the team.

The elder Hardy and Coach John Lorenzana quarreled after Santa Clara lost to Santa Paula, 5-4, last Friday in a Frontier League finale. The loss cost Santa Clara (12-6, 9-3 in league play) the league title; Fillmore (16-3-1, 9-2-1) won the championship.

According to George Hardy, he and Lorenzana disagreed over a pitching change in the Santa Paula game. On Monday at practice, Lorenzana and Hardy parted ways, and Mark Hardy soon followed.

“If he’s going to make that decision, that’s fine for him,” Lorenzana said. “I’m sorry he won’t be on the team anymore.”

Hardy, a senior, batted .267 (.430 in league play) with 11 runs batted in. Lorenzana said that senior Joel Herrera will start at second base.

“I wasn’t satisfied with the way things went all season,” George Hardy said. “I wanted to . . . play in the playoffs, but it’s a real shame this had to happen.”