Final Stats

Box Score (Game 1)

Box Score (Game 2)

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team finished off a three-game sweep of Butler on Saturday, winning both ends of the teams' doubleheader in Malibu. Pepperdine took the opener 3-2 and then opened up the offense with a 9-6 win in the late game.

The Waves got 8.0 innings on the mound out of A.J. Puckett in the early game and then had 13 hits to scored nine runs in game two to close out the sweep.

The three-win weekend moves Pepperdine's record to 4-3 on the year, while Butler falls to 0-6.

Puckett (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS) scattered six hits and gave up just two earned runs in the opener, striking out five batters to earn his first win of the season. After giving up a run in the opening frame, the sophomore righty settled in and only allowed one more run in the fourth.

Chandler Blanchard (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) came in to get the save and got some help from his defense on what turned out to be a spectacular ending. Butler pushed a runner to third with one out in the inning. Pinch-hitter Chris Marras hit a medium-depth fly to right field and Brandon Caruso (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola HS) came up with the catch and fired the ball in to home plate to nab the tagging runner and end the game.

After the Bulldogs scored to open the game, Pepperdine came back with two runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI-groundout and wild pitch. What turned out to be the winning run came in on a play where Butler tried to throw out Hutton Moyer (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) at home on a fielder's choice grounder, but the Bulldogs' catcher was called for interference, giving Moyer a free base for the score.

In the late game the Waves jumped out in front with three runs in the opening inning and through two frames had a 5-0 lead. Butler scored a pair in the third, but three Wave runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth put the game out of reach. The visitors did score three in the ninth, but left two men on base to end the game.

Freshman Ryan Wilson (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) picked up his first collegiate win in the game, tossing 7.0 innings. Wilson gave up seven hits, but no earned runs as all three the Bulldogs scored during his stint were unearned. Michael Perri (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd HS) worked a scoreless eighth and Jayson Balades (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard HS) and Kiko Garcia (Chula Vista, Calif./St. Augustine HS) combined to finish the ninth.

Chris Fornaci (Walnut Creek, Calif./De La Salle HS) led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a run scored. Both of Fornaci's hits on the day were doubles. Three other Waves had two-RBI days and six players posted multiple hits in the game. The nine runs and 13 hits were both season highs for the Waves.

Michael Fries was 2-for-3 for Butler, with two RBI and one run scored.

The Waves have another busy week at home ahead, as they play UC Santa Barbara in Malibu on Tuesday and then host Hawaii for a four-game series running Thurs.-Sun.