Flintridge Prep baseball utilizes huge first inning to rout Desert Christian

LANCASTER — While there may not have been a scoreboard present at Lancaster’s Rawley Duntley Park, there was no denying the opening-inning wallop delivered by the visiting Flintridge Prep baseball team.
The Rebels scored seven runs on eight hits, sent 12 batters to the plate and never showed concern afterward in what was a 10-0 upset victory over divisional third seed Lancaster Desert Christian on Tuesday afternoon.

With the victory, the Rebels improved their postseason record to 6-2 in the three-year run under coach Guillermo Gonzalez and are heading to the quarterfinals for the second time in three years.

Flintridge Prep will host Academy League fourth-place team Oxford Academy (15-15) in Friday’s third round.

“We just told them to be aggressive in that first inning and if you like the first fastball that you see, just jump on it,” Gonzalez said. “They were doing that and we were connecting on everything out there and finding holes.”

The Rebels hardly resembled the team that needed a late rally to defeat first-year program Foothill Tech, 4-3, in Friday’s first round.

Prep League runner-up Flintridge Prep (14-12) ripped four extra-base hits on the day, the first coming when clean-up hitter Cole Pilar connected on a no-out, bases-clearing double to center that put Flintridge Prep ahead, 3-0.

Pilar was the fourth consecutive Rebel to reach to lead off the game, with singles from Danny Chiarodit and Robbie Leslie and a walk to Hamilton Evans preceding Pilar’s extra-base hit.

Pilar and teammate Isaac Kim (one run and two stolen bases) scored three batters later on a two-run triple from Aidan Schraeder, which put Flintridge Prep up, 5-0, with one out.

The Rebels’ run didn’t end, however, as Theo Rosenfeld drove in Schraeder (two RBI) on a sacrifice fly and No. 9 batter Kendall Kikkawa (two for four with two runs), who reached on a single, scored on a single from Evans (double, RBI and run) to cap the seven-run inning.

While high school baseball rallies usually include multiple walks and errors, Desert Mountain League champion Desert Christian (19-7) only walked one batter and committed no errors in the inning.

“We just jumped on them earlier, got some hits and set the tone for the rest of the game,” said Chiarodit, the team’s leadoff hitter who finished two for four with two runs and a stolen base. “You don’t expect to put up seven runs, but you do set the tone.”

The Rebels finished five for seven with runners in scoring position in the frame with a double, triple and seven RBI. Overall, the Rebels finished seven for 17 with 10 RBI.

“Today was about cashing in with runners in scoring position,” said Leslie, who was two for four with a double, three RBI and a run scored. “In the Foothill game, we had runners on second and third in like three innings and I think we only got one run.”

Leslie got into the act in the third inning when the shortstop connected on a three-run double that put the Rebels into double-digits at 10-0.

Perhaps lost in the offensive explosion that consisted of 10 runs on 14 hits was an impressive effort from Rebels starting pitcher Richard Pan.

The junior quietly tossed a three-hit shutout, while striking out five and allowing only two walks.

Pan’s only real inning of contention was his last, when the right-hander allowed a double and walked two batters.

Pan kept his shutout intact, though, with a shallow fly to left followed by two infield outs that ended a miserable day for Desert Christian, which finished 0 for four with runners in scoring position and stranded six.

“Getting those seven runs really changed my mentality,” Pan said. “I just went out there and threw strikes. It just made everything that much more easy.”

While the Rebels did commit one error, Flintridge Prep’s defense was stout and included a diving infield snag from third baseman Evans in the second inning that potentially prevented a run from scoring.