Madness all March

SANTA ANA — The sound of a jackhammer and other heavy construction machinery immediately behind the bleachers, rendered the doings on the baseball diamond virtually inaudible for the first hour of the Orange Empire Conference baseball game Tuesday between visiting Orange Coast College and Santa Ana.

But that was just as well for OCC sophomore Brett Wallach, who quietly goes about his business as a matter of preference.

And, as it turned out, Wallach had plenty of business to conduct, while also giving about a dozen professional scouts in attendance plenty to busy themselves with their radar guns and note pads.

He recovered from a shaky start to pitch eight strong innings, while also going four for five at the plate to key the Pirates’ 17-4 triumph.

The win was the 12th straight for OCC (21-7, 12-2 in conference), ranked No. 1 in Southern California.

No. 2-ranked Santa Ana (20-9, 9-5) appeared as if it would threaten the Pirates’ bid for a perfect March (OCC’s last loss came Feb. 28 against Saddleback).

But Wallach said he rectified a “tweak” in his mechanics and settled in to dominate the Dons, who managed only one of their six hits after the second inning.

Wallach, who threw 134 pitches before giving way to Chris Licon, struck out 10, walked five and hit a batter.

Licon fanned two in the ninth to close it out.

“I was a little worried about Wallach at the beginning,” OCC Coach John Altobelli said. “But boy did he get stronger as the game went on. That was impressive. And, it showed a lot of character on his part. Last year, he would have rolled over [after loading the bases with no outs in the first, then allowing the first four batters to reach in a three-run Santa Ana second inning]. But he really bowed his neck.”

After Santa Ana loaded the bases with no outs in the first, Wallach notched back-to-back strikeouts. But he gave the Dons the lead when he hit Stephen Gonzalez in the head, before inducing an inning-ending groundout.

“I should have held them scoreless,” said Wallach, typically choosing self-criticism over any postgame bravado.

He might model his makeup after father and former major leaguer Tim Wallach.

A pair of singles, a double and an error extended the Dons’ lead in the second.

“Then, I made an adjustment and I felt really good the rest of the way,” the Long Beach State-bound Wallach said.

While Wallach was buckling down on the bump, the Pirates remained in the zone at the plate. OCC has now scored 38 runs in its last two games and is averaging 9.4 runs during the winning streak. Altobelli’s assault team has outscored opponents, 113-42, during the surge.

“I’m really locked in,” Wallach said of his hitting, which, he noted, seems to be enhanced on days the first baseman pitches. “But we all are.

“And when I pitch, I don’t think too much about hitting. I think that helps me.”

The Pirates didn’t have to think long about constructing a rally, as five hits and an error helped them score five in the third inning, two unearned, to take the lead for good.

Santa Ana finished with six errors and there were additional bobbles that did not make the line score.

For good measure, the Pirates added six in the fourth, one in the fifth and five in the ninth, lashing 18 hits against six pitchers.

Freshman outfielder Scott Hong went four for five with two runs batted in and scored three runs, while UC Irvine-bound sophomore third baseman Drew Hillman capped his three-for-five, five-RBI performance with a three-run homer in the ninth.

Sophomore leadoff man Ryan Sheeks went three for five, was hit by a pitch and scored four times.

Sophomore second baseman Ryan Dunn went two for three with three RBIs to add to a laundry list of OCC heroes.

OCC plays host to Santa Ana Thursday at 2 p.m.

Orange Empire Conference

Orange Coast 17, Santa Ana 4

SCORE BY INNINGS

Wallach, Licon (9) and Arellano; Peacock; Piraino (3), Perez (4), Steele (8), Hall (9), Knight (9) and Davis. W – Wallach, 4-1. L – Peacock, 3-2. 2B – Sheeks (OCC), Hillman (OCC), Wallach (OCC), Hong (OCC), Dunn (OCC), Piazzisi (SA). HR – Hillman (OCC).

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.