Final Stats

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team used a six-run seventh inning to power past Oakland for an 8-2 win in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon.

The Waves trailed through five and a half innings, but scored on in the sixth two tie it up before breaking the game open in the seventh. The win moves Pepperdine to 1-1 on the year and gives Head Coach Rick Hirtensteiner the first victory of his managerial tenure.

Ben Rodriguez (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) led Pepperdine with two hits, three RBI and two runs scored on the day. Rodriguez blasted a solo-home run to left to get the Waves on the board in the second inning and then hit a two-run single in the seventh.

Pepperdine batted around in the seventh inning, sending 11 hitters to the plate to record five hits. Manny Jefferson (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) started things off with a solo-homer to left, giving Pepperdine a 3-2 lead. Brad Anderson (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) would record an RBI double later in the inning before Rodriguez's two-run single. The Waves also capitalized on two Oakland errors in the frame.

Brandon Caruso (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola HS) tied the game up in the sixth for Pepperdine, grounding a single back up the middle to bring home Anderson.

The Waves recorded 10 hits in the game, getting two from Rodriguez and two from Anderson.

Kiko Garcia (Chula Vista, Calif./St. Augustine HS) gave the home team a solid day on the mound, tossing 7.0 innings for his first victory of the year. Garcia gave up four hits and two earned runs, while striking out six and walking just three. Jonathan Pendergast (San Diego, Calif./Catherdral Catholic HS) came in to toss the final two innings after the Waves grabbed the 8-2 lead, giving up just one hit the rest of the way.

Tyler Pagano and Connor Fannon each drove in runs for the Grizzlies. Oakland jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Pagano and then grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth after one-run double from Fannon.

The two teams will be back in action for the rubber game tomorrow at Eddy D. Field Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.