Game Notes

THIS WEEK FOR THE WAVES: The Pepperdine baseball team returns to Malibu for a midweek contest against USC on Tuesday and then opens a three-game WCC and PCH Cup series against LMU on Friday. The Waves are a game back of the Lions in the WCC standings.

SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 12 - 3 p.m. (Eddy D. Field Stadium)
Friday, April 15 - 6 p.m. (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Saturday, April 16 - 6 p.m. (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Sunday, April 17 - 1 p.m. (Los Angeles, Calif.)

PROJECTED STARTERS
Tues: (PEP) RHP Chandler Blanchard vs. (USC) RHP CJ Stubbs
Fri: TBA
Sat: TBA
Sun: TBA

COVERAGE: All four games will be shown live on TheW.tv. Live stats for Tuesday's game will be available at PepperdineSports.com and live stats for this weekend's games at LMU will be on LMUlions.com.

FOLLOW AND LIKE WAVES BASEBALL: Be sure and join Pepperdine's growing communities on Facebook and Twitter today. Follow and like Waves baseball on Facebook (Pepperdine Baseball) or Twitter (@PEPPBASEBALL).

LAST WEEK: The Waves went 2-2 last week. Pepperdine fell on the road to USC, 6-5, in a 10-inning midweek game in which Manny Jefferson forced extras with a two-out homer in the ninth. Pepperdine took two of three games at Santa Clara last weekend. A.J. Puckett tossed 8.0 shutout innings to win the opener, then Jefferson led the Waves to a 10-7 comeback win in the finale, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs. The Waves trailed 6-0 early in that game.

UNTOUCHABLE: The Waves' ace A.J. Puckett hasn't allowed an earned run in his last five starts and 38.2 innings pitched, lowering his ERA to a league-leading 1.31. Puckett tossed 8.0 shutout innings in his start against Santa Clara last week, giving up three hits and three walks while striking out seven. In his last five starts Puckett has allowed just 21 hits, while striking out 40 batters and walking only eight.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Manny Jefferson earned WCC Player of the Week honors last week after he led the team with six hits, four of which were homers to give him a league-leading nine on the year. He slugged 1.059 and hit .353. Jefferson started the week forcing extra innings at USC with a two-out home run in the top of the ninth inning. He went 3-for-5 against the Trojans, driving in two runs and scoring one. After driving in a run in the Waves' opener at Santa Clara, Jefferson had a monster game to close the series, hitting two homers and driving in five runs. Jefferson went 2-for-4 in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader, hitting a two-run homer in the second inning. He then drove in the game-winning runs with a three-run shot in the seventh inning to put Pepperdine ahead 9-7. Overall the Waves' right-handed slugger drove in eight runs on the week and scored five.

STREAK STOPPERS: The Waves ended a 35-game regular-season non-conference winning streak for Texas A&M earlier this year, beating the then-No. 4 Aggies 7-5 in the opening game of the teams' three-game series. Pepperdine got a game-tying three-run homer from Brad Anderson in the third inning and then got the go-ahead two-run homer from Manny Jefferson in the sixth. A.J. Puckett picked up the win in the game. After giving up four runs through the first four innings, the Waves' ace kept Texas A&M off the board into the eighth inning, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings and setting down 11 Aggies in a row at one point.

MAKING WAVES: Junior Matt Crowder has been making waves since being inserted into the starting lineup for the first time two weeks ago. Crowder made his first seven starts of the year in the last two weeks and is now third on the team with a .314 batting average. Jumping into the leadoff spot as of late, Crowder has scored six runs and has 11 hits. He posted a season-best 4-for-4 game against Santa Clara last week.

BREAKOUT ROOKIE: Freshman outfielder Matthew Kanfer has been a breakout player for the Waves, leading the team with a .324 batting average in 23 starts. Kanfer has been a mainstay in the second spot in the order, driving in the second most runs on the team with 24 and scoring the second most on the team as well with 18.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 22/10
Starters Returning/Lost (lineup): 7/2
Starters Returning/Lost (pitchers): 2/1
Newcomers, Off Redshirts: 14
Class: SR-3, JR-9 (1-RS), SO-10 (2-RS), 14-FR (2-RS)

STAT RANKINGS
Team:
Fielding Percentage: .979 - 2nd WCC, 15th NCAA
Hits allowed/9: 8.34 - 1st WCC, 60th NCAA
Home Runs: 31 - 1st WCC, 30th NCAA
Shutouts: 3 - 2nd WCC, 37th NCAA
Triples: 8 - 3rd WCC
WHIP: 1.33 - 2nd WCC, 61st NCAA
Individual:
ERA: A.J. Puckett 1.31 - 1st WCC, 22nd NCAA
Hit by pitch: Chris Fornaci 15 - 1st WCC, 1st NCAA
Hits Allowed/9 innings: Puckett 5.73 - 1st WCC, 43rd NCAA
Home Runs: Manny Jefferson 9 - 1st WCC, 25th NCAA
Brad Anderson 7 - 3rd WCC, 71st NCAA
Ben Rodriguez 5 - 5th WCC
Slugging: Manny Jefferson .619 - 4th WCC, 80th NCAA
Strikeouts: A.J. Puckett 57 - 3rd WCC, 43rd NCAA
AB/K: Aaron Barnett 11.9 - 1st WCC
Wins: A.J. Puckett 5 - 2nd WCC
WHIP: A.J. Puckett 0.85 - 1st WCC, 19th NCAA

TOP RETURNERS:
Pitchers - RHP A.J. Puckett (7-5, 4.35 ERA, 81 K, 31 BB), LHP Ryan Wilson (8-3, 3.78 ERA, 69 K, 42 BB), RHP Max Gamboa (6-2, 2.89 ERA, 8 SV, 41 K, 20 BB), RHP Chandler Blanchard (4-4, 4.99 ERA, 4 SV, 33 K, 16 BB)
Hitters - OF Brandon Caruso (.309 BA, 26 RBI, 3 HR, 19 2B, 2 3B), C Aaron Barnett (.303 BA, 27 RBI, 10 2B), Brad Anderson (.278 BA, 41 RBI, 10 HR, 8 2B)

2016 COACHES POLL: With the release of the 2016 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, Pepperdine was picked to finish second in the conference. The Waves tallied 72 total points in the coaches poll, with three first-place votes, to sit behind San Diego (76 points, 6 first place). LMU received the remaining first-place vote. The defending conference tournament champion Waves were picked second in the preseason poll last year as well. Pepperdine also placed three players on the preseason all-conference team with Aaron Barnett, Brandon Caruso and Ryan Wilson all on the list.

2015 SEASON CAPSULE: The Waves finished 2015 with a 32-29 overall record and a 17-10 WCC mark. The Waves finished the regular season second in the conference standings, but went on to win a second straight WCC Tournament title to secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Waves drew the #4 seed in the Fullerton Regional, but advanced to the regional final after knocking off Clemson and Arizona State. Pepperdine would eventually fall to host Cal State Fullerton, ending the Waves' season.

MOVING ON: Pepperdine lost four key contributors from last year's squad, including two graduated seniors and two draftees. Kolten Yamaguchi, a catcher and designated hitter for the Waves last year, and reliever Mat Snider graduated. Hutton Moyer was selected in the seventh round of the MLB Draft by the Angels and Jackson McClelland was picked in the 15th round by the Blue Jays. Yamaguchi is still with the team serving as a graduate manager.

2015 ALL-WCC: Pepperdine had seven players honored on the WCC postseason awards last season. Hutton Moyer and Brandon Caruso took home All-WCC first team accolades, while Jackson McClelland was named to the All-WCC second team, and Jordan Qsar and Ryan Wilson grabbed All-Freshman Team honors. Aaron Barnett and Matt Gelalich received honorable mention.

COACHING STAFF: 2016 marks the first season of Head Coach Rick Hirtensteiner's tenure at the helm for Pepperdine. Hirtensteiner served as an assistant on the Waves' staff for 17 years prior to taking over for Steve Rodriguez, who left for Baylor this past summer. Hirtensteiner hired Cooper Fouts, who previously served as a volunteer assistant with the Waves from 2011-12, to serve as the team's recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. Hirtensteiner tabbed Rolando Garza to fill the team's role as pitching coach, after former pitching instructor Jon Strauss also left to fill the same role with Rodriguez at Baylor. Fouts was previously an assistant at Utah Valley, while Garza served as the pitching coach at Riverside Community College.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Waves made their 29th appearance in NCAA postseason play last season, advancing to the NCAA Fullerton Regional final. In 2014 Pepperdine made its first ever NCAA Super Regional after winning the San Luis Obispo Regional Tournament. The Waves eventually fell to TCU, two games to one in the best of three series. Pepperdine won a College World Series title in 1992 and has appeared in the College World Series twice (1979, 1992).

ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports - one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment and is the only school not affiliated with a BCS-level conference. The Waves have earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.