LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Little more than an hour after the Flintridge Prep softball team began Prep League play, it was hard to find a Rebel without an ear-to-ear grin.
One would have been even more hard-pressed to find a fashion in which Flintridge Prep could have begun its league season in a better way.
"This is a very emphatic victory for us — we're excited," Rebels Coach Julie Jaime said.
With Denise van der Goot at her best in the circle, the defense behind her flawless and an Alina Okamoto-led offense running roughshod around the bases, the Rebels opened league with an all-around impressive outing that came against its archrival and ended in an 11-1 mercy-rule win over visiting Pasadena Poly on Friday at Prep.
"It was a very nice win," said Jaime, whose team improved to 3-2 overall. "It's a great way for us to start [league]. We had a lot of different people do some good stuff, which was the fun part."