Hall of Fame
In an all-California championship game, Pepperdine bested local rival Cal State Fullerton by the score of 3-2 to claim the 1992 College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
Under the direction of head coach Andy Lopez, Pepperdine advanced to the CWS after winning the NCAA West Regional Championship at Tucson, Ariz. The Waves quickly became a crowd favorite at Rosenblatt Stadium after opening CWS action with impressive shutout wins over Wichita State and Texas.
In order to advance to the championship game, Pepperdine needed to defeat Texas a second time. The Longhorns used a four-run rally in the top half of the seventh inning to take a 4-1 lead, but the advantage was short-lived, as Steve Rodriguez connected for a dramatic grand slam in the bottom half of the inning to propel the Waves to a 5-4 win. In the championship game, Patrick Ahearne, Derek Wallace and Steve Montgomery turned in solid efforts on the mound, and Eric Ekdahl’s solo home run in the fifth inning proved to be the game-winning blow.
