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Mission Viejo's Patrick Sandoval, shown pitching on March 25, threw a two-hit shutout as the Diablos defeated top-ranked San Clemente, 3-0, on Tuesday.
Mission Viejo’s Patrick Sandoval, shown pitching on March 25, threw a two-hit shutout as the Diablos defeated top-ranked San Clemente, 3-0, on Tuesday.
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SAN CLEMENTE – San Clemente’s baseball team had plenty of answers when facing deficits last week in the prestigious National High School Invitational in North Carolina, but Mission viejo left-hander Patrick Sandoval proved to be unsolvable Tuesday.

The Vanderbilt commit threw a complete-game shutout, allowing only two hits while striking out eight. The Diablos handed No. 1 San Clemente its first loss, 3-0, in a Sea View League game at San Clemente High.

“I don’t think we would have scored if he threw 12 innings against us,” Tritons coach Dave Gellatly said of Sandoval. “He was just on today. When you get a guy like him on the mound, they’re the best team in the country. This league is not going to be simple.”

Mission Viejo (8-4, 3-0) scored all three of its runs in the third inning against Tritons starter Andre Pallante. With runners on the corners, Cole Joy ripped a triple to deep center to drive in two and later came around to score on a single by Zach Sharpley. All three runs came with two outs.

“He left one up and I just managed to hit it decently,” Joy said. “There’s no pressure on us to score runs with (Sandoval) up there, all we need is one or two. He doesn’t give up a lot of runs or hits and this has to be one of his best games.”

Sandoval overpowered San Clemente (12-1, 1-1) with his fastball through much of the outing. The Tritons had a baserunner in the third and fourth innings, but both were erased on inning-ending double plays.

Sandoval (4-1) faced the minimum number of batters until the Tritons’ Lucas Herbert hit a double to lead off the seventh inning. Herbert also had a hit in the fourth.

Herbert reached third base with two outs in the seventh, but Trevor Beard grounded out to seal the win.

Sandoval has not allowed more than one run in any of his six starts this season and he has recorded 46 strikeouts.

“With him on the mound, if we play catch in the infield, we’ll be competitive,” Diablos coach Chris Ashbach said. “He looks the part and he’s got the entire package. He’s very athletic. He has stuff that’s electric and when he has it going, he’s tough to beat.”

The Diablos recorded seven hits off Pallante (2-1) in the early going. San Clemente’s junior right-hander later settled down and threw 61/3 innings.

Contact the writer: npercy@ocregister.com