Pali Baseball Bounces Back

If the Palisades High varsity baseball team lost confidence after losing its first three games of the season you wouldn’t know it by the way the Dolphins responded in their final two games of the Southern California Invitational. Palisades’ offense, which had managed to plate only four runs in its first three games, came to life against St. Bernard last Thursday. The first eight Dolphins reached base before the home team recorded an out and things got so lopsided that, by the fourth inning, the home plate umpire was calling anything above the ankles and under the arm pit a strike to Pali hitters. No matter, the Dolphins still won 16-0, led by J.R. Bromberg, who went three-for-three with a double, two home runs, a walk, three runs scored and eight runs batted in. One swing accounted for half of Bromberg’s RBIs, as he belted the Dolphins’ first grand slam homer of the spring in the top of the fifth inning. The momentum generated by Palisades’ first win carried over to Saturday’s game against Malibu at George Robert Field. The Dolphins won 12-7 and this time it was shortstop Andy Megee who did the most damage’going four-for-four with a double, a solo homer, five RBIs and three runs scored. On Tuesday, Palisades evened its record with a 5-1 nonleague victory at Carson. Rob Rosenberg pitched a five-hitter with five strikeouts and Eric Verdun went two-for-three with two runs scored for the Dolphins (3-3). Palisades continued its tough nonleague schedule with a nonleague game at Carson on Tuesday and travels to Woodland Hills on Friday to play El Camino Real, which routed the Dolphins in the quarterfinals of the City playoffs last season. Palisades begins its defense of the Western League title next Tuesday at L.A. Hamilton.