Flintridge Prep baseball runs over Chadwick

GLENDALE — After running away with its third consecutive victory, Flintridge Prep’s baseball team finds itself right where it wants to be.

Bolstered by 13 hits and seven stolen bases, the Rebels ran off with a 12-2 win over Chadwick in six innings on Friday afternoon at the Glendale Sports Complex that keeps them among the Prep League frontrunners.

PHOTOS: Flintridge Prep vs. Chadwick in Prep League baseball

“It’s been great,” said senior Karlsen Termini, who went three for four with three runs batted in, three runs and a stolen base, of Prep’s success. “[We have] definitely exceeded all our expectations, but we’ve been working hard for it. We’re definitely where we want to be.”

With the win over Chadwick (6-11, 1-7 in league), the Rebels (13-6, 7-2) are a half-game behind Webb (16-2, 7-1) and just ahead of third-place Pasadena Poly (11-6, 5-2).

“I’m extremely happy,” said first-year Rebels Coach Guillermo Gonzalez, whose team handed the Dolphins their fourth straight league loss and swept the season’s three-game series. “We’re one game back. This is the situation you want to be in. We have a big week next week and this is where you want to be.”

Prep is set to face Poly twice next week, with Poly still having two games left against Webb thereafter. But on Friday, the Rebels took care of business with an aggressive offense and a sturdy start on the mound from left-hander Daniel Enzminger, who was making his first start of the season.

Enzminger was touched up for two runs in the first inning, but rebounded well, going 5 2/3 innings with two runs allowed on four hits, a walk and two hit batters, while striking out four.

“He really did settle down,” Gonzalez said.

And the offense heated up in supporting him.

Down, 2-0, the Rebels wasted little time in answering, putting together a five-run first inning.

Brenden McKiernan led off the game for the Rebels with a single that was followed by an Andrew Tsangeos triple to score him. It came two days removed from a 7-5 win over Chadwick in which Tsangeos blasted a game-winning two-run home run.

Tsangeos and Cole Pilar, who went two for two with two walks, two stolen bases and three runs, came across when Termini, who’s headed to Santa Clara University, smoked a single to left field.

Termini and Enzminger later scored on a Dylan Arya opposite-field single to right. Arya’s single was telling as it was one of a plethora of times in which the Rebels took advantage of Chadwick miscues. The previous batter sent a line drive to the Dolphins third baseman with Enzminger far off second base and a certainty to get doubled off for an inning-ending double play. But the third baseman dropped the line drive and could only get the runner at first. Arya then piled on the offense.

“As long as we put the ball in play, good things are gonna happen,” said Termini, whose Rebels took advantage of five walks, three errors, three wild pitches, two botched double plays and a balk.

In addition, the Rebels ran the Dolphins ragged, stealing four of their seven bases in the first inning and taking extra bases every chance they got.

“We’re a running team this year,” Gonzalez said.

Michael Weinstein tacked on an unearned run in the third and Pilar added another in the fourth on a balk just before Termini scored on an error to up the tally to 8-2.

In the fifth, Termini drove in Pilar once again and Termini and Enzminger (two hits, two stolen bases, two runs and an RBI) came around on a Weinstein single. Perhaps fittingly, the game came to its mercy-rule conclusion when Arya scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.

“I’d say we’re aggressive. We just never let up,” Termini said. “It’s really [us] trying to send a message and establish a new kind of program.”