Sylmar Gets Mitts on an 8-1 Victory : Baseball: Spartans make the plays behind Zamora, while Reseda again makes the mistakes.

Steve Zamora didn’t worry about striking out batters Thursday in Sylmar High’s Valley Pac-8 Conference game against Reseda.

Zamora didn’t need to. He has learned to let the Spartan defense do the work.

Zamora’s five shutout innings helped Sylmar beat Reseda, 8-1, giving the 5-foot-8, 135-pound right-hander a two-year record of 7-1.

“I know the defense can do the job, and it makes my job a lot easier when I don’t have to throw the ball hard,” said Zamora (4-0), who didn’t strike out a batter but allowed only four hits while walking one.

The Spartans (9-2, 7-1) swept the two-game series from the Regents (2-6, 2-6), including an 11-0 victory Tuesday at Reseda.

The key to the series was simple: catch and throw the little white ball.

In Tuesday’s rout, Reseda committed six errors in the fourth inning, which led to eight Sylmar runs--all unearned.

On Thursday, Sylmar took advantage of Reseda miscues for four more unearned runs.

The Spartans jumped on the Regents for three runs (two unearned) in the first inning Thursday, with Zamora scoring the first run when Reseda third baseman Bobby Carrera couldn’t glove a relay throw.

Zamora, who started the rally with a one-out single, was sent home by the base umpire after a single by Hiram Damwijk. The throw from center fielder Paul Alvarez handcuffed Carrera and skipped out of play. Damwijk, who was holding at first, was awarded third. Jose Palacios promptly singled him home.

“Here we go again, sports fans,” Reseda Coach Mike Stone said with a groan.

Regent starter Matt Rutter (1-1) walked the next three batters, forcing in the third run before Stone called on relief pitcher Brian Menkin. Menkin got the final two outs without allowing another run.

But the Regents couldn’t recover. The Spartans wouldn’t give them anything.

The only Reseda player to reach second base against Zamora was Rutter--in the third--but he didn’t stay there long. He was caught in a rundown trying to stretch a double into a triple.

Reseda’s next batter, Isaac Lopez, hit a soft single to right that would likely have scored Rutter from second and cut the lead to 3-1. Lopez was then called out when he couldn’t avoid a grounder hit by Carrera to the right side of the infield.

“We lead the Valley in getting base hits with nobody on base,” Stone said. “Sylmar never beats themselves. They never make a mistake to lose a ballgame.”

Sylmar added a run in the bottom of the third on a run-scoring single by Albert Palma and two (unearned) runs in the fourth on a Reseda error and singles by Zamora and Chris Ruley.

The Spartans put the game out of reach with two more runs in the fifth on a leadoff double by Rene Zavala, a hit batsman and a two-run double by Rafael Velazco.

Reseda, threatening in the sixth against relief pitcher Greg Marquez, finally scored on a bloop single by Alvarez but left the bases loaded.