MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine baseball team wrapped up its Navy and Orange World Series on Saturday, with the Orange team claiming a 3-1 win. Despite the victory, the Navy team claimed the series win, as it won the first two games of the series to win 2-1.
“It was good to see the Orange team come through today,” Pepperdine Coach Steve Rodriguez said. “They had some good pitching, clutch hitting and executed in some key situations.”
The Orange team took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, as a Bryce Mendonca (San Leandro, Calif./Chabot JC) RBI triple scored Miles Silverstein (Bell Canyon, Calif./Calabasas HS) from first base. The Navy team responded in their next at-bat, as a Matt Aidem (Valencia, Calif./UC Santa Barbara/Valencia HS) two-out single scored R.W. Zeller (Milwaukie, Ore./Rex Putnam HS) to knot the score at 1-1. The Orange team re-claimed the lead in the sixth, as Silverstein scored on an Eric Thames (San Jose, Calif./West Valley JC/Bellarmine Prep) sacrifice fly after reaching base on a hit by pitch to make it 2-1 in favor of the Orange. The Orange played tack-on in the seventh and eighth innings, as they scored once in the seventh on an RBI double by Paul-Michael Klingsberg (Studio City, Calif./Notre Dame HS), and twice in the eighth without the benefit of a hit, as three walks, a sacrifice fly, and a balk scored two runners to make it 5-1. The Navy squad made things interesting in the ninth inning, as they climbed to within 5-2, but the Orange held on for the 5-2 win.
The Orange were led by Mendonca, who went 1-2 with an RBI and a run scored, and Silverstein, who scored twice. For the Navy squad, Daniel Lee went 2-for-2 with a walk and Aidem went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Brett Hunter (Moorpark, Calif./Moorpark HS) and Robert Dickmann (Woodland Hills, Calif./UCLA/Notre Dame HS) started for each team, with Hunter tossing a scoreless frame for the Orange and DIckmann throwing two scoreless for the Navy.
“Overall, it was a great weekend,” Rodriguez said. “We were able to get some good information on some players and we’ll have some key things to work on in the spring as we get ready for 2008.”
This concludes the fall practice season for the Waves. The Waves will begin preparing for the 2008 season in January, as they will gear up for the Feb. 22, 2008 season opener vs. Wake Forest.
