TEMPE, Ariz. – The Pepperdine baseball team had its final two games of the Weekend, defeating Wichita State 13-8 and falling to Stanford 6-1.
Brandt Belk had the best day for the Waves, going 3-for-7.
The Waves start the year 3-1, their best start since the 2017 season, when they started 3-1 as well.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore infielder Brandt Belk (Houston, Texas/Westside HS) went 3-for-7 on the day, with two RBI.
- Junior catcher Joe Caparis (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) went 2-for-4 on the day, including a three-run triple in the eighth inning of the game against Wichita State.
- Freshman infielder Wyatt Young (Honolulu, Hawaii/Mid Pacific Institute) went 3-for-8 with two RBI on the day.
- Sophomore Cooper Chandler (Frisco, Texas/Wakeland HS) threw 5.0 innings, giving up only one run on four hits.
Pepperdine 13, Wichita State 8
Wichita State got on the board first in the first inning on a single and a fielder's choice, taking a 2-0 lead. They then scored in the fifth inning on an RBI double. They took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth.
The Waves scored in the fifth inning, first on an error, scoring
Charlie Welch. Another two runs came on a 2-RBI double from Young, scoring
Aharon Modlin and
Duncan McKinnon. Young scored on a Belk single up the middle, and
Quincy McAfee scored on a sacrifice fly from
Matthew Kanfer. In all, the Waves scored five runs in the fifth, taking a 5-3 lead.
Pepperdine scored another five runs in the seventh inning. Belk got his second RBI of the game when he scored Young by hitting an infield single. McAfee scored again on a bases-loaded walk, drawn by
Mike Malinchak. With a 7-3 lead, Caparis knocked a triple down the right field line, clearing the bases and giving the Waves a 10-3 lead after seven innings of play.
The Shockers scored four runs in the eighth, cutting the Waves lead to three runs. Pepperdine answered back in the bottom of the eight, when Kanfer had an RBI groundout, scoring Young. McAfee scored again on a
Reese Alexiades single, giving the Waves a 5-run 13-7 lead. The Shockers scored one more run in the ninth, but could not complete the comeback, as the Waves cemented the win.
Stanford 6, Pepperdine 1
The Cardinal scored first in the second game of the day, on an RBI double, taking a one-run lead after one full inning.
The Waves got the run back in the second on an RBI single from
Duncan McKinnon, equaling the score at one.
In a pitcher's duel, no one broke through to score until the eighth inning when Stanford scored five runs to take a 6-1 lead, one that proved insurmountable.
Sophomore
Cooper Chandler threw 5.1 innings, giving up the single run and striking out two batters.
UP NEXT
The Waves are back in action when they hit the road to take on top-ranked Vanderbilt in a three game series. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 2:30 PT.