Final Stats

BOX SCORE

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team saw an 8-3 lead in the seventh inning slip away after Cal Poly scored six in the inning as all momentum was squarely with the Mustangs.

But a couple of big Wave swings in the bottom of the seventh changed all that.

Chase Lambert led off the seventh with a game-tying solo home run and Cory Wills blasted a two-run, go-ahead homer later in the inning - his second of the day - to help the Waves rally back and defeat Cal Poly 11-9 Tuesday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium.

Wills racked up four RBI with his two homers for Pepperdine (18-17) while Brandt Belk had his first career three-hit game and Jordan Qsar added three RBI against the Mustangs (16-19).

• Junior center fielder Cory Wills (Henderson, Nev./Basic HS) went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI.
• Junior designated hitter Jordan Qsar (El Cajon, Calif./Valhalla HS) finished with three RBI - giving him a team-best 39 on the season.
• Junior right fielder Matthew Kanfer (Playa Del Rey, Calif./L.A.C.E.S.) went 3-for-5 with a double, stolen base (his team-high fifth) and three runs.
• Freshman first baseman Brandt Belk (Houston Texas, Westside HS) went 3-for-5 with two runs.
• Sophomore left fielder Duncan McKinnon (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS) went 2-for-3 with a triple, run and RBI.
• Sophomore left-hander Edward Yost (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS) pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first career save.

The Waves quickly answered falling behind 1-0 in the first inning after a Brandt Belk single and a Matthew Kanfer bunt single (where Belk went all the way to third) led to a Jordan Qsar RBI groundout to make it 1-1.

Pepperdine took a 2-1 lead in the second when a lead-off triple by McKinnon eventually led to him scoring when Joe Caparis hit into a double play.

Cal Poly took the lead back in the fourth on a two-run homer, but again Pepperdine had an answer as the Waves tied it in the bottom of the inning on a Caparis two-out RBI double down the left field line to make it 3-3.

The Waves took the lead in the fifth when Cory Wills' first homer of the game - a two-run shot - made it 5-3 Pepperdine. The lead grew in the sixth inning as after singles by Belk and Kanfer put runners on second and third, Qsar laced a two-run single to push the Wave advantage to 7-3. McKinnon later in the inning slapped one through the left side for an RBI single and made it 8-3.

But Cal Poly stormed back with a six-run seventh inning - with five of the runs unearned to the team due to an error - as Pepperdine suddenly found itself behind 9-8.

Like they had done all game, the Waves answered as Chase Lambert blasted a lead-off homer to left to tie the game at 9-9. Belk singled and it eventually brought up Wills with a runner on and two outs. The left-handed hitting center fielder took the first pitch he saw and deposited it over the right-center field wall to make it 11-9 Waves.

It turned out to be enough as Easton Lucas pitched a scoreless eighth and Edward Yost threw a perfect ninth to pick up his first career save. Christian Stoutland got the start, going five innings and giving up three runs on four hits with a strikeout and a walk.

The Waves open a three-game WCC series against San Diego 3 p.m. Friday at Eddy D. Field Stadium.