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Postgame Quotes - Rick Hirtensteiner

STOCKTON, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team ended its run at the West Coast Conference Tournament on Friday, falling to Gonzaga 5-4 on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The Waves got a clutch home run from Brad Anderson in the ninth to force extra-innings, but Tyler Frost hit his second homer for the Zags to end the game in the 10th. Pepperdine ends its season with a 29-24 record, while Gonzaga moves to 35-18 and will face Saint Mary's tomorrow for the WCC Championship.

Aaron Barnett (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley HS) singled through the left side with one out in the top of the ninth, setting up Anderson's game-tying heroics. The senior first-baseman smashed a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall, setting off a celebration in the Pepperdine dugout. The momentum lasted until the bottom of the 10th, when Frost hit a one-out solo-homer.

The Waves loaded the bases twice in the first four innings, but couldn't come away with a run either time. Gonzaga would fill the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth and score a run on a double play. Easton Lucas (Simi Valley, Calif./Grace Brethren HS) got the Waves out of the inning with a strikeout to limit the damage.

Pepperdine came right back in the top of the fifth, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Barnett doubled into the gap in right-center to even the game at one. Anderson (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) then gave the Waves a 2-1 lead with a single up the middle.

The Zags had a quick answer of their own, getting a solo-shot from Sam Brown in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. Gonzaga would take the lead on a solo-homer by Tyler Frost in the sixth and then tack on another run with a sacrifice fly in the inning. They would take the 4-2 lead into the ninth.

Max Gamboa (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais HS) tossed 4.0 innings of relief for the Waves after entering the game in the sixth. He struck out six batters and walked two. Lucas pitched the first 5.1 frames, giving up six hits and three runs, while striking out three.

Anderson drove in three runs on two hits for the Waves in his final collegiate game. Barnett and Chase Lambert (Malibu, Calif./Malibu HS) both had three-hit days. Barnett drove in one run and had two doubles in the game.

This week's run in the WCC Postseason was the third consecutive appearance in the tournament for the Waves. Pepperdine finished the season in fourth place in the conference standings, just two games out of first. It was the Waves first season with Rick Hirtensteiner as the program's head coach after he previously served as an assistant for 17 years.