MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine baseball team hosts its first West Coast Conference series of the year, as Saint Mary's comes to Malibu for a weekend set.
 
SCHEDULE:
Friday (3/26) - Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's at 3 p.m.
Saturday (3/27) - Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's at 1 p.m.
Sunday (3/28) - Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's at 1 p.m.
 
COVERAGE: All three games against the Gaels will be broadcast live on the WCC Network. Links to the broadcasts as well as live stats are available on the baseball schedule page on PepperdineWaves.com. Fans can also follow @PeppBaseball on Twitter for live, in-game updates.
 
LAST WEEK: This past week, the Waves took the opening WCC series from San Francisco, winning two of three games in the Bay. Pepperdine had an offensive explosion on Friday, scoring 16 runs to defeat the Dons 16-2. After San Francisco defeated the Waves on Saturday, the two teams played a tightly contested game on Sunday, with the Waves taking the victory 10-8. Pepperdine then hit the road for an unusual two-game midweek series with Grand Canyon, winning both games.
 
HOME ATTENDANCE: Per the current COVID-19 Guidelines set by the state of California and Los Angeles County, fans will not be permitted to attend home games at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
 
WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ryan Johnson was the first Wave to earn West Coast Conference Player of the Week on March 9. The sophomore had a great week, hitting .500 (8-for-16) with 11 RBI. On Sunday against CSU Fullerton, Johnson had a 4-for-5 day, hitting a two-run home run and driving in five total runs. 
 
SERIES VS. SAINT MARY'S: The Waves hold a 126-38 advantage over the Gaels. In 2019, the Gaels took two of three from Pepperdine in Malibu. The year before, the Waves won the series 2-1 in Moraga.
 
CONFERENCE/NATIONAL LEADERS: The Waves rank in the top-30 nationally in a couple of statistics: 30th in sacrifice flies (10), 26th in home runs (24) and 12th in hit batters (31). Pepperdine leads the West Coast Conference in home runs and home runs per game (1.26 - 46th nationally). The Waves also have numerous players in the top-5 of the conference in statistics: Wyatt Young leads the WCC in hits with 28, Connor Bradshaw leads the conference and is second in the nation in triples with three. He also is second in the conference in stolen bases with five. Ryan Johnson is second in the conference in runs batted in with 27 (7th nationally). Justin Lutes has drawn 17 walks, good for second in the conference and 27th in the country.
 
FOLLOW AND LIKE WAVES BASEBALL: Be sure and join the Waves' growing community on Facebook (Pepperdine Baseball), Instagram (@pepperdinebaseball) and Twitter (@PeppBaseball) today.
 
WCC PRESEASON: Pepperdine is predicted to finish first in the West Coast Conference this year. The whole list is as follows: 1. Pepperdine, 2. Gonzaga, 3. San Diego, 4. BYU, 5. Loyola Marymount, 6. San Francisco, 7. Portland, 8. Santa Clara, 9. Saint Mary's, 10. Pacific.
 
The Waves also had four athletes named to the Preseason All-WCC team: Seniors Reese Alexiades, Billy Cook and Aharon Modlin, and junior RHP Cooper Chandler.
 
COACHING STAFF: 2021 marks the sixth 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 Jim Lawler on an interim basis to fill the team's role last year as pitching coach after Rolando Garza left after four years. Lawler has over 35 years of collegiate baseball coaching experience, most notably spending 25 years as the pitching coach at Texas A&M. 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 major 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 #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.