Infield Prepares Defense of Mater Dei’s No. 1 Ranking : Marked Monarchs Begin 4-A Title Drive

Their nicknames--Terrible, Scooter, Stick, Deeea and Stallion--sound like something out of “The Little Rascals.�

These particular rascals, however, are not found in Hollywood, but rather on the sandlot near the corner of Edinger and Bristol in Santa Ana.

And whenever they get together, they usually have a lot of fun at the expense of the team they happen to be playing.

Their real names are Teddy Flores, Chris Gill, Bobby DeJardin, Tony Gardea and Anthony Follico. They make up the infield of the Mater Dei High School baseball team, and they are largely responsible for the Monarchs’ great success this season.

Mater Dei (22-1), the Angelus League champion, has been ranked first for most of the season in the Orange County Sportswriters Assn. prep baseball poll, first in the Southern Section 4-A poll and even No. 1 in a national ranking by USA Today.

For most teams, that would be more than enough, but Mater Dei is poised for one more big push--the 4-A playoffs. The Monarchs will go as far as their talented infield takes them in the postseason.

Every time Mater Dei takes the field these days, the Monarchs not only have to prove themselves on the scoreboard, but they have to live up to their billing as “top high school baseball team in the nation.� And that’s not easy.

“I think that ranking helps the other teams prepare for us,� said Bob Ickes, Mater Dei’s coach. “They want to show that we’re not (the best).

“It was a problem the first week the rankings came out, but since then, the kids have taken it upon themselves to try to play up to that.�

Or, as Monarch catcher Anthony Follico said of their top ranking, “We’ll take it, but we’d rather have the CIF (4-A) title.�

The Monarchs will take their first step toward that goal on Friday when they host Los Alamitos, 17-9 and ranked 10th in the final Orange County Sportswriters Assn. poll.

This is where the Mater Dei infield comes into play. If it performs up to par, the Griffins should not count on Mater Dei errors helping their cause. The infielders are not ready for the major leagues just yet, but these amateurs do play with anair of professionalism about them.

The most notable difference between Mater Dei’s infielders and most other high school infielders is how aggressively the Monarchs play the ball, especially on hard-hit grounders to the left side of the infield.

Many high school baseball players will back up or wince when fielding such sharp grounders, but not the Monarchs.

“We knew that they would be our strength going into the season,� Ickes said. “The whole infield has been together for two years.

“It’s all in their attitude--they don’t allow themselves to have a lackluster day whether in a game or at practice. They really get after it in practice.�

Being dedicated is one thing, but these guys are all giving up tonight’s Senior Prom so that they’ll be well-rested for Friday’s playoff game.

Here’s a look at the Mater Dei infield, position by position:

TEDDY FLORES (first base)--Nicknamed “Terrible,� as in Terrible Ted Williams of Boston Red Sox fame. Flores, a 17-year-old senior from Santa Ana, grew up admiring the way Rod Carew of the California Angels plays first. Flores will probably go on to play community college baseball at either Santa Ana, Orange Coast or Los Angeles Harbor.

CHRIS GILL (second base)--Nicknamed “Scooter.� An 18-year-old senior from Tustin, Gill scored 32 runs and stole 15 bases during the regular season. Will most likely go on to play at Cal State Long Beach, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or at a community college.

BOBBY DeJARDIN (shortstop)--Nicknamed “Stick.� An 18-year-old senior from Huntington Beach, he scored 32 runs and stole 19 bases during the regular season. DeJardin has accepted a scholarship to play baseball at Loyola Marymount.

TONY GARDEA (third base)--Nicknamed “Deeea� as a play on his last name. An 18-year-old senior from Fountain Valley, Gardea batted .412 and scored 28 runs during the regular season. Gardea will most likely go on to play for UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach, Chapman College or at a community college.

ANTHONY FOLLICO (catcher)--Nicknamed “Stallion.� The solidly built, 5-foot 11-inch, 195-pound catcher led the county and set a Mater Dei school record with 38 RBIs during the regular season. He also batted .432 with five homers. On Wednesday, this 18-year-old senior from Huntington Beach agreed to a baseball scholarship offer from USC, where he will be joining Mater Dei basketball star, Tom Lewis.