Third baseman Matthew Beserra used his bat and his head to help Mira Costa score a 3-2 road victory Tuesday in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, Mira Costa caught a break when Ayala’s Adam Seminaris left third base early on a flyout to right field.
An alert Beserra yelled to Mustang pitcher Joey Acosta and the appeal was upheld to take a run off the scoreboard for the home team.
In the sixth inning, it was Beserra’s bat that sealed the victory for Mira Costa. Following an Acosta double, Beserra blasted a two-run homerun to center field giving the Mustangs all they needed for the win.
Mira Costa (22-8) will host Capistrano Valley (18-15) in a quarterfinal game Friday at 3:15 p.m. Semifinals will be held Tuesday followed by the championship game Saturday, June 3 at UC Riverside.
Mira Costa won its playoff opener last Friday after two years of being eliminating in the first round. The Mustangs defeated visiting San Dimas 7-3.
Beserra went 4 for 4 with a solo home run and Chase Meidroth was 3 for 3 with two RBI and two stolen bases.
Redondo (17-12) saw its season come to an end with an 11-1 road loss to Huntington Beach, the Division 1 top-seeded team.
In Division 3 Peninsula, who shared the Bay League championship with Mira Costa, also advanced to the quarterfinals along with El Segundo.
Peninsula (23-6) will play at second-seeded Righetti (25-6) after the Panthers defeated Crean Lutheran 4-1 on Tuesday.
El Segundo (27-6) eliminated visiting Troy 13-6 in the second round and will travel to fourth-seeded Walnut (21-8) on Friday.
