MALIBU, Calif. – After taking two of three from Portland last week, the Pepperdine baseball team hosts Saint Mary's for the final series of the season in the midst of a tight West Coast Conference postseason race.
 
SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 17 - Pepperdine (23-23, 13-11 WCC) vs. Saint Mary's (31-19, 15-9 WCC) at 3 pm.
Saturday, May 18 - Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's at 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 19 - Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's 1 p.m.
 
COVERAGE
Links to live stats and live streams for all games can be found on peppperdinewaves.com
 
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LAST TIME OUT: The Waves traveled to Portland for the last road conference series, and took two of three from the Pilots. In game two, the Waves put up 12 runs thanks to home runs from Matthew Kanfer and Quincy McAfee.  
 
SENIOR DAY: Pepperdine will be honoring the team's eight seniors on Sunday for their last game at Eddy D. Field Stadium. The eight seniors are Saul Sandoval-Estrada, Benjamin Slattery, Edward Yost, Cory Wills, Jonathan Pendergast, Matthew Kanfer, Christian Stoutland and Easton Lucas.
 
WCC TOURNAMENT: The Waves are currently in an extremely tight race for the fourth and final spot into the WCC Tournament in Stockton, Calif. Four teams are currently within a game and a half of each other for the third place position: LMU (14-10), San Francisco (15-12), Saint Mary's (12-9) and Pepperdine (13-11). In order to make the tournament, the Waves need either to sweep Saint Mary's, or take two of three and get some help from Gonzaga, who need to take exactly two of three from LMU.
 
PENDY'S PRETY GOOD: Jonathan Pendergast, who took home WCC Pitcher of the Year honors last year, picked up the Waves' first WCC weekly honors on April 29, as he was named WCC Pitcher of the Week after throwing a complete game shutout, striking out 10 against LMU.  
 
MIKE SCOTT: On Saturday, March 18, Pepperdine will welcome back Pepperdine and MLB great, 1986 Cy Young Award winner Mike Scott. Scott will be on hand for the game to be honored on the outfield wall, as well as signing autographs. 
 
SERIES VS. SAINT MARY'S: The Waves own the overall series 125-36 over the Gaels. In last year's series, the Waves took two of three in Moraga.
 
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.
 
THE STAFF: The Waves' rotation has been stellar over the course of the year, The reigning WCC Pitcher of the Year, Jonathan Pendergast is second on the team in strikeouts with 58, along with two complete games on the year when he threw complete-game shutouts against BYU and LMU. Senior lefty Easton Lucas has also been coming into his own, especially as of late, when he threw a complete game on Saturday, March 23 against Gonzaga. He leads all pitchers with 67 strikeouts.
 
RETURN OF THE MC(AFEE): Junior infielder Quincy McAfee is on a tear this year, second on the team in batting average with a .310 clip. He is also leading the Waves in doubles, with 14 and is third in OPS, sitting at a .836 OPS. He is also getting on base any way he can, leading the team in both walks and hit by pitches with 16 and 11, respectively.
 
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 only College 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.