Final Stats Game 1
Final Stats Game 2

G1 Box Score

G2 Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - After getting rained out a day earlier, the Pepperdine baseball team swept a doubleheader with Columbia on Saturday, winning the opener 15-6 and the late game by a score of 12-2.

The sweep moves Pepperdine to 6-8 on the year and drops Columbia to 2-4. The teams have two more games in the series remaining, playing at 1 p.m. tomorrow and then at 3 p.m. on Monday.

The Waves took the first game behind a dominant start on the mound from A.J. Puckett (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS) and an explosive offensive performance at the plate.

Pepperdine plated 15 runs courtesy of 12 hits, including a pair of homers. Ben Rodriguez (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) hit a grand slam in the fourth as part of six-run inning for the Waves that put Pepperdine up 9-0. Prior to that, the Waves scored three runs in the second inning on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and then a two-run single from Matthew Kanfer (Playa Del Rey, Calif./L.A.C.E.S.).

Puckett threw the first 6.0 innings of the day, giving up no runs on just two hits, while striking out eight batters and walking just two. The win moved the Waves' righty to 2-2 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.30.

Columbia came up with two runs in the seventh after Puckett exited and then scored four more in the eighth to make it a 10-6 game. Pepperdine came back with five runs in the bottom of the eighth, however, to put the game out of reach. Matt Gelalich (La Verne, Calif./Bonita HS) hit a two-run homer to right and Chase Lambert (Malibu, Calif./Malibu HS) singled in two runs. Chris Fornaci (Walnut Creek, Calif./De La Salle HS) also plated a run with a double to left.

Both Kanfer and Rodriguez led the Waves in the first game with two hits and four RBI. Gelalich reached base four times in the game, driving in three runs and scoring twice from the leadoff sport.

George Thanopolous took the loss to move to 0-2. The Lions got seven hits from seven different players in the opener.

Pepperdine picked up right where it left off in the late game, getting an RBI from Kanfer to open scoring in the bottom of the first. The Waves then scored six runs in the second, thanks to a two-run homer from Fornaci and another RBI single from Kanfer. Rodriguez then stepped up and singled in a pair of runs with the bases loaded and Manny Jefferson (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) knocked in another with a single up the middle.

Columbia would score on an RBI single from John Kinne and Joe Engel hit an RBI double in the top of the fourth to give the Lions a pair of runs.

Jefferson had the answer for Pepperdine in the bottom of the sixth, blasting his fourth homer of the year over the left-field fence to make it a 9-2 game. The Waves would tack on three more insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, getting a run scoring triple from Kanfer for his seventh RBI of the day.

Kiko Garcia (Chula Vista, Calif./St. Augustine HS) got the win for Pepperdine in the late game, tossing 5.0 innings to move to 2-1 on the year. Garcia scattered seven hits and gave up just two earned runs. Adam Cline took the loss for Columbia to move to 0-2.

Five waves posted two-hit days in the late game, including another multi-hit game for Kanfer, who drove in three runs. Rodriguez went 1-for-2 and drove in three runs to give him a seven-RBI day as well. Jefferson matched the three RBI mark, going 2-for-4 at the plate. He leads the team in home runs this season.

Kinne and Shane Adams each posted a pair of hits for Columbia. The Lions had nine hits, but just two runs as they left 10 runners on base.

Max Green (Rolling Hills Estate, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) tossed three shutout innings in relief for Pepperdine, giving up just two hits. Max Gamboa (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais HS) came in to work a perfect ninth.