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MALIBU, Calif. - A.J. Puckett tossed 8.2 scoreless innings on Friday afternoon to lead the Pepperdine baseball team to a 2-0 win over San Francisco in the first game of a West Coast Conference series.

Puckett matched his career high with 10 strikeouts and scattered five hits as he mowed down the Dons all afternoon. The Waves' offense manufactured a clutch run in the seventh and then tacked on insurance in the eighth to move Pepperdine to 12-12 overall, 3-4 WCC. San Francisco falls to 8-20, 3-4 WCC.

"A.J. was tremendous today," said head coach Rick Hirtensteiner. "I think he had 16 in a row retired at one time. He really only ran into trouble in two innings and had a great outing overall. That's really what you look for in a Friday guy."

Puckett (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS) walked just two batters to his 10 strikeouts and extended his streak to four starts without giving up an earned run. The Pepperdine ace is now 4-2 on the year and has a 1.53 ERA. Puckett had to strand a pair of runners in the seventh and then got out of the eighth even after an error nearly allowed USF to score.

The Dons would load the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Chandler Blanchard (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) came in to get the final out and seal the win with a groundout to second.

Pepperdine would break through offensively in the seventh inning as Matt Crowder (Atherton, Calif.//BYU) led off with a double and then was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Chase Lambert (Malibu, Calif./Malibu HS) followed with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to give the Waves a 1-0 lead.

"Crowder has done a great job the last two games," said Hirtensteiner. "He had some good at bats again today. He led off that inning, we bunt him to third, and then Chase Lambert, who had a failed execution earlier in the day, he comes through and comes up big for us in a crucial spot."

Brad Anderson (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) tacked on an insurance run with a solo-homer to left in the bottom of the eighth, putting Pepperdine up 2-0. It was Anderson's fifth home run of the year.

Prior to finally breaking through, the Waves got runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but a couple of popups ended the threat. The Waves again got a runner in scoring position in the sixth thanks to a Don error, but USF starter Anthony Shew got a strikeout to end the inning and strand runners on first and third.

Crowder led the way for Pepperdine at the plate, going 2-for-3 to give him five hits in his last two games. No player on the USF side had more than one hit.

The teams will continue their series tomorrow in Malibu with a 1 p.m. game. That contest can be seen live on TheW.tv.