May 30, 2010
Box Score
Pepperdine and San Francisco Box Score (May 30, 2010) 
MALIBU, Calif. - Senior Robert Dickmann (Woodland Hills, Calif./Notre Dame HS) delivered a 1-0 complete game shutout against San Francisco in his final collegiate start Sunday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
Dickmann tied a career high with nine strikeouts, which he previously accomplished earlier this season vs. Portland.
The Waves' three-game sweep of the Dons gave them a final overall record of 24-30 and sole possession of third place in the West Coast Conference at 12-9, matching last season's mark. San Francisco finished 28-28 overall and 10-11 against the league.
Dickmann's day on the bump got off to a great start, receiving a hug from celebrity fitness model Leeanne Tweeden who was there to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, and then it got even better as he scattered four hits and three walks to earn the first career complete game shutout of his career.
Dickmann continually left hitters confused with a mixture of off-speed pitches and made a pair of solid defensive plays as well. With two outs in the third inning, Ryan Lipkin chopped a ball through the left side that eluded both Wave infielders, but there was Dickmann running to cover third and placing the tag on Pete Lavin who was caught dead in his tracks.
Then in the seventh, Dickmann recorded his first pickoff of the season, getting Connor Bernatz leaning off second base with a sharp throw back to freshman Joe Sever (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory). Afterward, Dickmann retired the final eight batters he faced as the Dons failed to threaten again.
"All I wanted to do today was have a good performance and pitch like I have been all season long," Dickmann said. "There was a lot of luck involved too. The defense made some terrific plays; I made some big pitches and everything kind of fell into place. I felt good all game."
Dickmann received all the offense he would need on senior Colin Rooney's (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) two-out RBI single in the first that plated sophomore Brian Humphries (El Cajon, Calif./Granite Hills HS) from second base.
Humphries, who finished the game 2-of-4 to raise his season batting average to .305, led off the game with a single and was put in scoring position following a wild pitch by USF starter Matt Hiserman.
USF's pitchers would not make another mistake all game as the Waves went on to record just four more hits and left six runners left on base, including two at third in the fourth and eighth innings.
Rooney's hit extended his career-best hitting streak to a 13th game, which was the second longest on the team this season behind Sever's 14-game streak. The senior finished the year at .297.
As a team, Pepperdine played better as the season progressed and wrapped up May with an 11-8 record, .302 average and 122 runs scored. Additionally, all three weekend starters posted winning records as the Waves swept series from Saint Mary's and San Francisco and won two-of-three at Loyola Marymount.
Dickmann said he hopes the next set of Waves can carry the momentum into next season.
"I'm kind of sad that I'm not going to be around to see next year's team," he said. "There came a time once we were eliminated when it would have been very easy to bring ourselves down and go through the motions, but the coaches and the younger guys kept everyone's spirits up and we just kept improving one game at a time."
For head coach Steve Rodriguez, Sunday's victory served as the 241st of his career and tied him for fourth place on Pepperdine's all-time wins list with his coach and mentor Andy Lopez, who recently won his 1,000th game earlier this month with Arizona.
Rodriguez was the second baseman for Lopez's 1992 national championship club.
"Andy Lopez is a tremendous man, who did some amazing things in the years that he coached here at Pepperdine, and I feel lucky to have experienced much of the same success as he has," Rodriguez said. "As for today's game, I couldn't have scripted a better ending for our seniors and I'm proud of how hard we worked and played down the stretch."
Next up for the Waves are a series of year-end meetings followed by next week's MLB Draft, which begins Monday night, June 7. There's been a lot of chatter about what current and future Waves will be drafted, but no one in the clubhouse knows for sure what's going to happen until their name is called; Dickmann included.
"I hope I get drafted," he said, "and I'm excited to see what happens. I still want to play and I know a few teams that have expressed an interest. A lot of scouts were surprised when I bounced back from my injury and ended up having a decent year."
In four years as a Wave, Dickmann posted a 17-13 record with three complete games and 166 strikeouts. He established a number of season bests in 2010, including eight wins, 99.1 innings pitched and 75 strikeouts.
Pepperdine 1, San Francisco 0 (May 30, 2010 at Malibu, Calif.)
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San Francisco....... 000 000 000 - 0 4 0 (28-28, 10-11 WCC)
Pepperdine.......... 100 000 00X - 1 6 0 (24-30, 12-9 WCC)
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Pitchers: San Francisco - HISERMAN, Matt; LUIPPOLD, Garrett(8); OROPEZA, Joe(8) and LIPKIN, Ryan
. Pepperdine - Dickmann, Robert and Johnson, Nate.
Win-DICKMANN, Robert(8-5) Loss-HISERMAN, Matt(1-5) T-2:14 A-331
Weather: 77, Sunny
