Oshiro, Flintridge Prep roll to easy first-round playoff victory
LA CAÑADA — Therese Oshiro had a brief worry in the first inning.
The Flintridge Prep starting pitcher didn’t encounter the scare while in the circle, but after stealing second base.
Oshiro shook off the ankle injury by striking out nine and allowing two hits in a shutout to propel host Flintridge Prep to a 10-0 victory against Boron in a CIF Southern Section Division VI first-round game Thursday. The contest was called in the sixth because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“I wasn’t sure what happened at first when I got to second base,” Oshiro said. “It hurt for a bit, but I wanted to go out there and pitch .
“It felt great getting the strikeouts and my defense made some big plays behind me. We have a team where everybody has improved so much.”
Oshiro, a right-hander, struck out at least one batter each inning. She struck out two in the first, third and sixth.
Following the program’s first postseason win since 2011, Flintridge Prep (14-5) will meet second-seeded Savanna (27-2-1), which registered a 15-1 win against Shadow Hills, in a second-round home contest Tuesday. Boron, which finished second in the Desert Mountain League, finished 12-11.
Oshiro met with Flintridge Prep Coach Julie Mejia after the first inning and assured Mejia she could continue.
“She said she was ready to go back out there and she pitched a great game,” said Mejia, whose team took second in the Prep League. “She’s such a selfless person and what a performance she gave.
“She got ahead in the count and shut down a very good hitting team.”
Oshiro didn’t allow a hit until Morgana Emery singled with two outs in the fourth. Cassie Lockett had the other hit for the Bobcats, a lead-off double in the fourth.
The Rebels, who reached the playoffs for the second straight season, scored three runs in the first to take a 3-0 lead. A groundout by Alex Tutwiler made it 1-0. An error by the catcher gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead before Maya Vasquez drove in a run to extend the advantage to 3-0.
Flintridge Prep scored three runs in the second to make it 6-0. Two runs scored on an error by the catcher before Tutwiler homered to left to pad the lead to 6-0.
An error by the first baseman in the third gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead.
Flintridge Prep closed out the scoring with three runs in the sixth. Melissa Grande was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 8-0. A two-run double down the left-field line by Taylor Yoshida completed the scoring.
Amari Dennis scored three runs for Flintridge Prep, which got two from Tutwiler. The Rebels finished with 10 hits, including two apiece from Libby Penn and Vasquez.
