Allbee Throws Caution to the Wind : Prep baseball: Edison left-hander, unafraid to throw curve when behind in the count, strikes out 15 in 5-3 win over Simi Valley.

Unlike many high school pitchers, Edison High left-hander Shawn Allbee is not afraid to throw an off-speed pitch when he is behind in the count.

And Thursday at Simi Valley, a fearless Allbee was too much for Simi Valley.

The 6-foot-1 senior used a hard fastball and a sharp curve to keep Simi Valley guessing. The Pioneers failed the test, repeatedly returning to the dugout muttering to themselves.

Albee finished with 15 strikeouts to lead Edison to a 5-3 win in an El Segundo tournament quarterfinal. The first eight Simi Valley outs were via strikeout.

“I always throw my curve when I’m behind in the count,” Allbee said. “The hitters just never expect it.”

Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers was left wondering what exactly the Pioneers were expecting.

“There’s no way that kid should have had 15 strikeouts,” Scyphers said. “We were just out of sync, and he threw his curveball for a strike whenever he wanted. Any time a high school kid can do that, he’s going to be successful.”

While Simi Valley (2-1) struggled at the plate, Edison (3-0) took a 2-0 lead in the third. Josh Warron’s two-out single drove in Ryan Belitz, and Warron scored when first baseman Pat Queenen dropped a throw from second baseman Britten Pond that would have ended the inning.

It was the first of three Simi Valley errors--each of which led to an unearned run--and the Pioneers also made several mental mistakes. One Simi Valley runner was picked off first and another was nailed after he rounded second. The Pioneers missed a cutoff man and that blunder later led to a run.

“This was the worst game we’ve played, mentally, in my 14 years here,” Scyphers said.

After Ryan Briggs’ two-out single drove in Lenny Valbuena to cut Simi Valley’s deficit to 2-1 in the fifth, a relay throw caught Jason Alcala rounding second to end the inning.

Edison added two runs in the sixth, courtesy of an error by shortstop Briggs and a double steal. Edison had five stolen bases.

Despite their mistakes, the Pioneers pulled to within 4-3 on Kevin Nykoluk’s two-run home run with none out in the sixth. Albee responded by striking out three consecutive batters.

After Edison added another unearned run, Albee struck out two more in the seventh.

Albee (2-0) won three playoff games last season in leading Edison to the Southern Section 5-A Division final at Anaheim Stadium. “He took us to the Big A last year,” Coach Paul Harrell said.

Against Simi Valley, Albee settled for the Big K.