MALIBU, Calif. – After defeating Cal Poly in extra innings on Tuesday, the Pepperdine baseball team travels to the Pacific Northwest for a West Coast Conference series with Portland.
 
SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 10 - Pepperdine (21-21, 11-10) at Portland (23-23, 5-16) at 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 11 - Pepperdine at Portland at 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 12 - Pepperdine at Portland at 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 dropped two of three to San Francisco, but left the Bay Area with some solid momentum. In the final game of the series, Pepperdine put up 10 runs, led by Brandt Belk, who went 5-for-6 on the day with three doubles and two RBI. 
 
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.
 
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 (14-10), Saint Mary's (12-9) and Pepperdine (11-10).
 
MIKE SCOTT: Next 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. The Waves will be taking on Saint Mary's with first pitch at 1 p.m.
 
TOURNEY HOPES: After missing the NCAA Tournament last year, the Waves are off to a good start in the rankings. As of May 6, the Waves are ranked 55th in the nation in RPI, and second in the WCC behind BYU (30). 
 
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. PORTLAND: The Waves own the overall series 72-18 over the Pilots, including splitting the past two season series
 
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 33. The reigning WCC Freshman of the Year, Cooper Chandler already has a complete-game shutout under his belt, allowing just five hits over nine innings against UC Davis. 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 37 strikeouts.
 
RETURN OF THE MC(AFEE): Junior infielder Quincy McAfee is off to a tear this year, leading the Waves in batting average with a .308 clip. He is also leading the Waves in doubles, with 12 and is third in OPS, sitting at a .835 OPS. He is also getting on base any way he can, leading the team in both walks and hit by pitches with 16 and 10, 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.