MISSION VIEJO – Tanner Bibee allowed one hit and had 10 strikeouts and two walks over seven innings to lead the fourth-ranked Mission Viejo to a 6-0 victory over Capistrano Valley in a South Coast League baseball Thursday at Capistrano Valley High.
Bibee walked the third batter he faced, then retired eight in a row before walking his second batter.
The senior right-hander set down the next six before giving up a one-out single in the sixth inning.
“That’s the way he has been all year … the last couple of years,” Mission Viejo coach Chris Ashbach said of Bibee. “He is just a quality pitcher who is really efficient and commands four pitches for strikes.”
Bibee, who has committed to Cal State Fullerton, is 3-1 through four starts this season. He has 38 strikeouts and given up just one run over 28 innings.
Bibee said he made adjustments against the Cougars (5-4, 1-1) as the game progressed, transitioning from mostly fastballs in the early innings to throwing more off-speed pitches in the middle frames.
“As the game went on, we realized that my breaking stuff was working more,” Bibee said. “Figuring out how to throw my off-speed (pitches) during the game really helped me throw my fastball, and they were off balance the entire game.”
The Diablos (7-3, 1-0) scored the game’s first run on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze in the third.
Mitchell Narasaki led off the inning with a bunt single and took second on an errant throw.
Narasaki advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Jake Figueroa’s bunt, which rolled to a stop about 30 feet in front of the plate.
The Diablos added two unearned runs in the inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Joey Garman led off the sixth with a home run to left-center, and Matt Austin drove in Mission Viejo’s final two runs with a two-out double with the bases loaded.
