Mira Costa Edges Palos Verdes

Brian Zinda was inexperienced, in a slump and probably a little nervous. But fortunately for his Mira Costa High teammates, Zinda had only one option.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Zinda had already fouled two bunt attempts trying to move baserunner Greg Gilmer into scoring position. With a 2-2 count, Zinda had to swing the bat.

When he did, Zinda belted a line drive into left-center field for a double that scored Gilmer and gave Mira Costa a 6-5 Ocean League baseball victory Wednesday over visiting Palos Verdes.

It was Zinda’s first varsity hit. A solid fielder at third base, Zinda has struggled (0 for 7) at the plate, often prompting Mira Costa Coach Jim Beaumont to use a designated hitter for the slender sophomore.

“He’s a good hitter, but he’s still getting used to varsity pitching,” Beaumont said. “He got a little more used to it today.”

Zinda’s big hit made a winner in relief out of senior right-hander Jason Garner (3-3), who has been Mira Costa’s top pitcher for four years. Lefty Russ Riblett (1-1) took the loss.

With one out in the seventh, Palos Verdes first baseman Pat O’Hara tied the score, 5-5, when he launched a 3-0 fastball from Garner over the center-field fence for his first home run.

But Garner avoided further damage in the inning, stranding two Palos Verdes runners by getting Derek Hyde and Chris Blandford on called third strikes.

“I thought we might get it over with that inning, but we have not been picking up our baserunners all year,” Palos Verdes Coach Gil Eberhard said.

Palos Verdes (6-5-1 overall, 2-1-1 in league play) led, 2-1, in the fifth after O’Hara’s single that drove in a run. But Mira Costa (7-6, 3-2) scored four times in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to four hits and three Palos Verdes’ errors.

Chris Leach’s two-run single off Mira Costa starter Joel Garber in the sixth got Palos Verdes to within 5-4 before Garner--who will start Friday at Palos Verdes--came in from shortstop to relieve.

Zinda came off the bench at that point to play third for Scott Combs, who had shifted to shortstop in Garner’s absence. On the next play, second baseman J. C. Cummings and Combs turned a slick double play to get Garner out of the inning.