Final Stats

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - Chandler Blanchard and Ryan Wilson combined for a dominant pitching performance on Friday afternoon as the Pepperdine baseball team evened its West Coast Conference series against BYU with a 3-0 win at home.

Pepperdine shut out the WCC's top scoring offense for the first time this year in the game, moving to 21-10 overall, 11-9 WCC. The Cougars fall to 31-12, 13-7 WCC with the loss. The victory keeps the Waves two game back of first-place BYU.

Both pitchers cruised through the first three innings, with Pepperdine's Blanchard (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) getting a double play in the third inning to work out of his lone early jam and strand a runner on third.

Chase Lambert (Malibu, Calif./Malibu HS) broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth, slicing a ball down the right field line for a two-run triple. Manny Jefferson (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood HS) and Ben Rodriguez (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) scored on the play after Rodriguez extended the inning with a two-out single.

Rodriguez added another run for the Waves in the sixth, singling through the left side to bring home a run from second. The Waves nearly scored a second in the inning, but Jefferson was tossed out at home trying to score on a single up the middle.

Blanchard lasted until the seventh inning, when BYU got runners on first and second with one out. Wilson (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) came in and induced a soft grounder to first to end the inning. Blanchard tossed 6.2 scoreless innings on the day, giving up five hits, while striking out two and walking just one.

Wilson was lights out the rest of the way, working two more perfect innings to close it out for his fifth save of the year. Wilson struck out three batters and induced four ground balls to retire all seven batters he faced.

Rodriguez led Pepperdine at the plate, going 3-for-4, with an RBI and a run scored. Jefferson and Brandon Caruso (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola HS) each had two-hit days.

Hayden Rogers took the loss for BYU, falling to 4-3 on the year. No player in the visitors' lineup posted more than one hit in the game as Pepperdine outhit BYU 10-5.

The Waves and Cougars wrap their series up tomorrow at 12 p.m. in Malibu. That game can be seen live on TheW.tv.