Patrick Sandoval had his head on straight and his fastball moving.
The Mission Viejo junior left-handed pitcher had his best outing of the season Wednesday. He pitched a two-hit shutout as the Diablos beat Capistrano Valley, 3-0, in a South Coast League game at Capistrano Valley.
The result tightened the race for the league championship. Capistrano Valley is tied with Trabuco Hills for first place, with both having 5-2 league records. Mission Viejo is third at 6-3.
The top three finishers in the five-team league receive guaranteed berths in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs. The No. 4 team is eligible for an at-large berth if it has an overall record of .500 or better.
Sandoval struck out six and walked two. He has won three decisions in a row to improve to 6-2. The shutout lowered his earned-run average to 2.38.
Sandoval came into the season with high expectations after going 7-5 with a 2.58 ERA last season. He did not get off to a strong start.
“It’s been mental, I think,” said Sandoval, who committed to Vanderbilt. “Baseball’s a mental game.”
He gave up a single in the second inning and a double in the third. His fastball had zip and he threw it where he wanted to throw it.
“I found my stuff today,” Sandoval said. “I was throwing strikes today and not walking guys as much as I have been.”
Sandoval retired 13 in a row before allowing a two-out walk in the seventh inning.
“That’s the kind of performance you can get from him” said Mission Viejo coach Chris Ashbach. “The hype about him is real when he’s on and throwing strikes and in command.”
Capistrano Valley senior right-hander Wyatt Shackleford was good, too. He gave up six hits and two earned runs in six innings.
Mission Viejo (15-9 overall) scored two runs in the fourth inning when Zack McLeod doubled in John Balliet and Cooper Herrera’s single drove in McLeod.
The Diablos’ third run came in the sixth on Hunter Remington’s perfectly pushed bunt single that slid past Shackleford’s reach and sent home Balliet.
The teams meet again Friday at Mission Viejo. After that, there are two weeks left in the regular season.
In the Century League:
Esperanza 9, El Modena 7: Griffin Barnes homered and had two RBIs for the visiting Aztecs (13-7, 6-5).
In the Empire League:
Pacifica 7, Cypress 3: Taylor Franzman pitched a complete game, and Joey Ortiz had three hits for the host Mariners (15-8, 7-2), who are tied for first place with Valencia.
In the Sea View League:
No. 3 Dana Hills 7, San Juan Hills 6: Reid Lundeen, Louis Raymond and Zach Wolf had multi-hit games for the league-leading Dolphins (20-5, 8-1).
In the Sunset League:
No. 1 Fountain Valley 3, Newport Harbor 2: Dan Rosica had two hits and an RBI for the league-leading Barons (15-6, 9-1).
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
