MALIBU, Calif. – The #24 Pepperdine baseball team had a field day at the plate, knocking 15 hits en route to a 12-2 rout of #16 Michigan. Reese Alexiades led the Waves with a 3-for-3 day and a home run in the eighth.

The Waves (11-2) never trailed in the game, scoring nine unanswered runs when the Wolverines (7-6) got to within one run.
BIG WAVES

• Redshirt-junior outfielder Reese Alexiades (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) had one of the best days of his career thus far, going 3-for-3, scoring four runs and driving in three on a three-run blast in the eighth.
• Senior infielder Aharon Modlin (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) went 5-for-5 on the day with five singles and three runs scored.
• Junior outfielder Mike Malinchak (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage HS) had three hits on the day, and drove in three.
• Redshirt-junior RHP Wil Jensen (Murray, Utah/Cottonwood HS) threw six innings, gave up just four hits and one earned run, striking out eight.
• Junior RHP Dane Morrow (Malibu, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) threw three innings of scoreless relief, striking out two and scattering five hits.

GAME RECAP
The Waves got started right away, when after singles from Wyatt Young (Honolulu, Hawaii/Mid Pacific Institute), Alexiades and Malinchak walked, scoring Young from third. Ryan Johnson (Tempe, Ariz./Seton Catholic HS) singled to third base allowing Modlin to score. Alexiades then scored on a wild pitch, giving the Waves a 3-0 advantage going into the second inning.

Michigan scored their first run in the fourth on a passed ball to cut the Waves' lead to 3-1 after four. They scored again in the sixth on a solo home run to left and got within a run of the Waves. Pepperdine answered with a run of their own when Alexiades scored again on a passed ball. After six innings, the Waves led 4-2.

From the seventh on, it was all Pepperdine. In the seventh, Justin Lutes (Las Vegas, Nev./College of Southern Nevada) singled to left, allowing Billy Cook (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS) to score after a walk, stolen base and Modlin single. Alexiades walked to load the bases, and Malinchak singled through the left side, scoring Lutes and Modlin. After seven, the Waves led 8-2.

Modlin hit a one-out single up the middle to move Cook to second after a single of his own. Lutes then doubled Modlin in. Alexiades then hit a 331-foot blast to deep left field over the fence for a three-run home run, cementing a 12-2 victory over the defending national runner-up Wolverines.

Jensen retired nine of the first ten batters he faced, and gave up an unearned run in the fourth. He gave up his only earned run in the sixth on the lead-off home run. In total, he threw six innings and struck out eight Wolverines. Morrow came out in the seventh and got the three-inning save, striking out two and allowing just five hits.

UP NEXT
The Waves and Wolverines will play a double-header on Saturday to complete the series. First pitch of game one will be at 10 am, and the second game will start roughly 30 minutes after the end of the first game.