Flintridge Prep falls in eight

Charles Rich

PASADENA -- To portray the zaniness of the Flintridge Prep softball

team’s season, look no further than the eighth inning of Thursday’s 2-1

loss to Pasadena Westridge.

The Rebels, who have endured a rollercoaster campaign, had the bases

loaded with no outs and failed to convert. They paid the price for the

lapse on the field and possibly in the Prep League standings.

Flintridge Prep, which clinched a CIF Southern Section Division V

playoff spot on May 3, controlled its own destiny and could have wrapped

up second place in league behind Pasadena Poly with a win Thursday.

Now the Rebels (10-10, 8-4 in league) must play a waiting game.

If Mayfield topped Chadwick in its league finale Thursday, then

Mayfield and Flintridge Prep would finish tied for second. The teams

split their two-game season series, setting off a coin flip today that

would determine who gets the second-place entry and earn a more favorable

first-round playoff opponent.

“We didn’t execute when we needed to and that’s the difference,”

Flintridge Prep Coach Anne Konrad said. “Things like that happen and we

can’t continue to make some of the same mistakes. We made contact, but we

have to work on execution and take advantage of those kind of scoring

opportunities.”

Westridge (11-9-1, 7-5) capitalized on its eighth-inning scoring

chance.

Athena Mak singled to right with two outs to score Mollie White and

possibly create a new landscape in the league standings.

Westridge, which split the two-game season series with the Rebels,

will petition for an at-large postseason berth. Playoff pairings will be

announced Monday at the CIF office in Cerritos.

Flintridge Prep catcher Crystal Cook said the loss won’t deflate the

Rebels.

“It will force us to work harder,” Cook said. “Usually we pull through

in those situations. We were flat some innings and it’s hard to stay

sharp for seven innings after you played the day before.”

The Rebels, who won eight of their final 10 regular-season games, took

a 1-0 lead in the second on a sacrifice fly by Ali Thompson.

The Tigers tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Jenna Olsen in the

sixth.

BOX SCORE

Flintridge Prep*0*1*0*0*0*0*0*0--*1*7*1

Westridge*0*0*0*0*0*1*0*1*--*2*5*0

Flintridge Prep*IP*R*ER*H*BB*K

Schachtner*7.2*2*2*5*2*7

Westridge*8*1*1*7*2*6

Chew*8*1*1*7*2*6

WP--Chew (3-3).

LP-Schachtner (4-6).

3B: W-Mak.

SB: FP-Gray; W-White.