MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine baseball team heads to Tempe, Ariz. for a midweek, non-conference matchup with Arizona State on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 PT.
SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, Feb. 26 - Pepperdine (3-3) vs. Arizona State (7-0) 5:30 PM
COVERAGE
Links to live stats and live streams for the game can be found on peppperdinewaves.com
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LAST TIME OUT: The Waves traveled to Nashville, Tenn. to take on top-ranked Vanderbilt. Originally scheduled for a normal, 3-game series, the weather forced just two games, played in a double-header on Sunday. The Commodores came out on top each game, winning 6-3 in the morning and 6-2 in the afternoon.
LAST YEAR: The Waves went 29-22 overall last year, winning the program's 18th overall title. As the #1 overall seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament, the Waves took second place, falling to champion Gonzaga.
SERIES VS. VANDERBILT: The Sun Devils own the series advantage, 11-13-1 overall, but the Waves have won three of the last four meetings between the teams.
HOT START: Two freshmen got off to great starts in their first collegiate games. Catcher
Charlie Welch started three of four games the opening weekend, and in the first at-bat of his college career, hit a grand slam to give the Waves a 5-0 lead to start the year. He continued his good start against Vanderbilt, going 4-for-7 in the two games.
Wyatt Young, an infielder from Hawaii also had a good opening weekend, picking up five hits.
TOP RETURNERS:
Pitchers
RHP
Jonathan Pendergast (7-4, 2.69 ERA, 67 K, 11 BB), WCC Pitcher of the Year
LHP
Easton Lucas (2-3, 4.11 ERA, 35 IP, 29 K, 16 BB)
RHP
Cooper Chandler (6-3, 2.99 ERA, 44 K, 28 BB) WCC Freshman of the Year.
Hitters
OF Matt Kanfer (.315 BA, 70 H, 35 RBI, 7 HR, 12 2B)
IF
Brandt Belk (.318 BA, 54 H, 20 RBI, 1 HR, 12 2B)
IF
Quincy McAfee (.269 BA, 47 H, 18 RBI, 18 2B)
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 28/7
Starters Returning/Lost (lineup): 7/2
Starters Returning/Lost (pitchers): 4/0
Newcomers and Returning Redshirts: 11
Class: SR-4 (1-RS), JR-11 (6-RS), SO-13 (3-RS), FR-11 (1-RS)
2019 COACHES POLL: The Waves were picked to finish second in the WCC coaches poll behind 2018 WCC Tournament champion Gonzaga. The full order is : Gonzaga,
Pepperdine, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, BYU, Loyola Marymount, Portland, Santa Clara, Pacific.
2018 ALL-WCC: Pepperdine swept the postseason awards in 2018, as
Jordan Qsar was named WCC Player of the Year,
Jonathan Pendergast was named WCC Pitcher of the Year,
Cooper Chandler was named WCC Freshman of the Year and head coach
Rick Hirtensteiner was named WCC Coach of the Year.
COACHING STAFF: 2019 marks the fourth season of head coach
Rick Hirtensteiner's tenure at the helm for Pepperdine. Hirtensteiner served as an assistant on the Waves' staff for 17 years prior to taking over for Steve Rodriguez, who left for Baylor in 2015. Hirtensteiner hired
Rolando Garza to fill the team's role as pitching coach. Garza served as the pitching coach at Riverside City College before coming to Malibu. Hirtensteiner hired Pepperdine baseball legend
Danny Worth in the summer of 2018. Worth played for the Waves from 2005-2007, becoming one of the best shortstops in Pepperdine history. He hit .320 over his career, with seven home runs and 108 RBI. After being drafted in the second round by the Detroit Tigers in 2007, Worth made his Major League Baseball debut in May 2010 with the Tigers. Over his six-year MLB career, he had a .223 batting average with two home runs in 149 games played.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Pepperdine won its onlyCollege World Series title in 1992.The Waves made their 30th appearance in NCAA postseason play in 2015, advancing to the NCAA Fullerton Regional final. In 2014 Pepperdine made its first ever NCAA Super Regional after winning the San Luis Obispo Regional Tournament. The Waves eventually fell to TCU, two games to one in the best-of-three series.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports – one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat – and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment and is the only school not affiliated with a BCS-level conference. The Waves have earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
