OCC had averaged 19 runs its previous two games, nearly 10 runs its previous 11 games and had averaged 17 hits its previous four games, during which it hit .414 as a team.
But Meza, who watched OCC’s 17-4 trouncing of the Dons from the dugout at Santa Ana College Tuesday, proved the axiom that good pitching beats good hitting, locating fastballs and breaking balls with equal aplomb.
OCC had two hits through five innings. Meza retired 13 in a row, before Ryan Sheets laced a one-out single up the middle in the sixth.
Sheets was caught trying to steal second, before Mykal Stokes singled. Then, OCC sophomore third baseman Drew Hillman stayed on a low breaking ball, launching it well beyond the left-field fence to give the Pirates (21-8, 12-3 in conference), ranked No. 1 in Southern California, a 2-1 lead.
It was the fourth homer of the year for the UC Irvine-bound Hillman, who exacted a measure of personal revenge after having fanned both of his first two at-bats.
“[Meza] made Hillman look ugly most of the day and Hillman is one of the top hitters in the conference,” OCC Coach John Altobelli said.
“[Meza] pitched a great game. We knew he was going to be tough coming in. He’s one of the better pitchers around; that’s why he’s undefeated [now 7-0].
“He had good velocity and good control of his breaking ball,” Altobelli said of the 6-foot, 170-pound Meza, a product of Loara High. “When you can do that, you’re usually pretty successful. Good pitching beats good hitting on any given day, even as hot as we were swinging the bats. We still had our chances, but that guy did a good job. You’ve got to tip your cap.”
As impressive as Meza was, OCC starter Calvin Drummond took a lead into the eighth, having limited the visitors to three hits.
