PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Allbee’s Return Is Bad News for Ocean View

Edison High School pitcher Shawn Allbee appears to have fully recovered from a back injury, which only proved to be a pain in the neck to Ocean View.

Allbee struck out nine, walked one and worked his way out of two bases-loaded jams to lead host Edison to a 3-2 victory over Ocean View Tuesday in Sunset League play.

Allbee (5-2) strained a muscle in his back lifting weights three weeks ago and had struggled in losses to Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach. He had problems following through on his curve and had little velocity on his fastball.

“I held him out of our Easter tournament and his last two outings in league wasn’t him,” Edison Coach Paul Harrell said. “He threw 71 miles per hour against Huntington Beach and it was like batting practice for them.”

Edison had struggled in Allbee’s absence. The Chargers (8-9, 4-3 in league) had lost seven of their last eight games without their ace. It was only a year ago that Allbee won three of four playoff games in leading Edison to the Southern Section’s 5-A division championship game at Anaheim Stadium.

But until Tuesday, the Chargers appeared to be headed nowhere in ’92. Leadoff batter Adam Cancelleri led a nine-hit attack with a single, double and triple and scored two runs. Cancelleri also stole home in the fourth inning for what proved to be the winning run.

Edison appeared to be confident and more aggressive with Allbee on the mound. The Chargers avoided a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning when Allbee got Ocean View’s Mike Bellovich to hit into a double play.

“Getting out of that first inning was a big lift,” Harrell said. “The kids seemed to get excited after that double play.”

Ocean View (12-8, 3-5) wasted another scoring opportunity in the fourth inning. The Seahawks had the bases loaded with one out when Allbee struck out Chris Castellano and Steve Carlson to end the inning.

Ocean View had nine hits off Allbee, including two doubles by leadoff batter Steve Rivera, but the Seahawks failed to get key hits. Now, the three-time defending league champions are in a must-win situation in their four remaining league games.

“I told my guys that we’ve dug a six-foot hole, we’re in the casket and they’re starting to nail it shut,” Ocean View Coach Steve Barrett said. “We’ve got four league games left and we have to win them all.”

Rivera got his second double of the game in the fifth inning and scored on a double by Rich Crowe. Michael Edwardson followed with a single that Edison left fielder Greg Hanoian misplayed for an error. But Hanoian recovered to throw out Edwardson at second to end the inning.

“We just seem to play with more confidence when Shawn is pitching,” Harrell said. “If he stays healthy, we have a good shot at making the playoffs.”

In another Sunset League game:

Huntington Beach 4, Marina 3--Howie Clark went three for four, including a double, and had two RBIs for the Oilers (18-3, 7-1) at Marina. Right-hander Derek Glascoe (6-2) pitched the first four innings to record the victory.

In the Century League:

Canyon 11, Foothill 10--Trailing 10-9 after six innings, John Schumaker had an RBI single to tie it, and Tony Schifano hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run in the top of the seventh for visiting Canyon (12-7-1, 6-3-1). Schifano also earned the victory after relieving Matt Wood in the fifth. Rob Higby had three RBIs for host Foothill (14-6, 8-2).

Santa Ana Valley 3, El Modena 1--Armando Cueva had a single to drive home Jose Bernal and give the host Falcons a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Cueva allowed four hits and struck out six while throwing just 82 pitches for Santa Ana Valley (9-11, 5-5).

Villa Park 16, Orange 4--Jason Johnson hit a three-run home run in the first inning for Villa Park (8-10-2, 5-5). He also had a two-run single in the fourth inning.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Century 9, Costa Mesa 2--Tommy Reimers struck out nine and walked none, allowing only one earned run and five hits for host Century (5-11, 4-5).

Laguna Hills 4, Estancia 2 (12 innings)--Jason Pierson drove in Brett Nista who scored the winning run for Laguna Hills (11-8, 5-3). Teammate Jeramy Gillen drove in Pierson who scored the last run. Estancia is 5-4 in league.

In the Olympic League:

Orange Lutheran 18, Ayala 0--The visiting Lancers (14-4, 6-2) hit five home runs and had a 10-run seventh inning to highlight their 22-hit attack. Jason Presley hit a three-run home run in the seventh, and Jason Fox, who hit two home runs, had a grand slam in the fourth. Matt Hendren threw a five-hitter for Orange Lutheran.

In Academy League baseball:

St. Michael’s Prep 9, Heritage Christian 8--Jocques Wright was four for four with three runs scored to lead St. Michael’s (1-3) to its first baseball victory in 10 years.

In the Arrowhead League:

Southern California Christian 4, La Sierra Academy 3 (6 innings)--Greg Mattox’s one-out triple to left-center drove in Brent Pike with the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning for the host Flames (9-4, 3-2).