IRVINE — UCSB junior right-hander Jesse Meaux was brilliant on Sunday, throwing his second complete game of the season, this time besting No. 27 UC Irvine in a 2-1 victory on Sunday at Anteater Ballpark.
Meaux won for the fifth time in his past seven decisions, allowing just one run on eight hits in nine innings with two strikeouts. The junior from Glendale helped the Gauchos avoid a series sweep with a Sunday win for the third time in the past four weekends.
He got just enough offense on Sunday to help the Gauchos improve to 21-25 overall and 7-10 in the Big West.
With one out in the fourth, Derek Eligio singled and Trevor Whyte followed with a double. However, Mark Haddow popped out before shortstop Matt Valaika’s two-run single through the left side made it 2-0.
To that point, Meaux used two double plays in the first two innings to thwart UCI (32-17, 12-6) and until the Anteaters scored in the ninth, Meaux allowed only one runner past second base.
UCI’s biggest threat – when the Anteaters pushed a run across with an out in the ninth – was put out when Meaux induced his fourth double play of the game, getting Jonathan Hurst to roll into a 5-4-3 twin-killing to end the game.
Meaux is now 8-3 this season, leading the Gauchos in victories. It also marks the most wins by a UCSB pitcher since Chuck Huggins finished the 2008 season with a similar mark. Meaux is now 12-3 all-time in his career at UCSB, for an .800 winning percentage, which would be second in Gaucho history.
He thoroughly shut down an Anteater team that combined for 12 runs on 22 hits in winning the first two games of this series and a UCI team that entered the weekend hitting .302 collectively. It was also just the third loss for the Anteaters in their past 11 games.
Eligio led the Gauchos with two of the team’s five hits.
UCSB will play at No. 11 UCLA on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before hosting its final weekend home series beginning on Friday vs. UC Davis. That is the final Faculty Free Friday of the 2010 season for all UCSB staff and faculty to attend a game for free.
