Final Stats

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't come all the way back against California, falling 12-7 in the series-opener to the Bears.

Quincy McAfee hit a two run homer in the ninth and went 3-for-6 on the day, and Brandon Caruso had a 4-for-5 day at the plate, but Pepperdine left 13 runners on base in the loss. Cal had 16 hits to the Waves' 15.

The Waves fall to 6-5 with the loss, while Cal improves to 5-7. The Waves and Bears play two more games this weekend, with 1 p.m. start times on Saturday and Sunday. Both games can be seen live on TheW.tv.

After the Bears put up a run in the second, Pepperdine came right back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Caruso hit an RBI double and McAfee singled in a run to give the Waves a 2-1 lead.

Cal would tie the game with a run in the third inning and then broke things open with five runs on three homers in the top of the fifth. The Waves loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but couldn't get a run back as Cal got a diving catch in centerfield to end the inning. The Bears would add five more runs before Pepperdine came up in the ninth.

Trailing 12-3, the Waves loaded the bases with no outs and scored on a groundout and wild pitch to make it 12-5. McAfee's second homer of the year made it 12-7 with two outs, but a popup ended the game.

Jordan Qsar also had a multi-hit game to join McAfee and Caruso, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Caruso scored twice as well and his four hits matched a career high.

Andrew Vaughn and Denis Karas each had three-hit days for Cal, with Karas driving in a game-high four runs. Five players had multi-hit games for the Bears.