Box Score MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine baseball team took on its second-straight top-10 team on Friday, falling to #8 UCLA 16-8.
The Waves (1-7) got an early jump on the Bruins (6-3), scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, and kept the offense up, but the Bruins matched every time the Waves scored.
BIG WAVES
- Senior utility Billy Cook (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer HS) went 2-for-5 on the day, including a fifth-inning solo home run.
- Sophomore utility Ryan Johnson (Tempe, Ariz./Seton Catholic HS) had a great day, going 2-for-4 with three RBI including a two-RBI single in the opening frame.
- Senior catcher Joe Caparis (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) went 3-for-4 with an RBI single in the eighth inning.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves got off to a hot start, as a
Wyatt Young (Honolulu, Hawaii/Mid-Pacific Institute) single got the game started. Cook followed up by beating out a grounder to third, putting runners on first and second. After another single, this time from
Aharon Modlin (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS), Johnson hit a single into the left-center field gap, plating both Young and Cook.
Connor Bradshaw (New Rochelle, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling HS) then plated Modlin on an RBI-fielder's choice. After one full inning of play, the Waves led 3-0.
UCLA answered in the bottom of the second inning, getting a two-run single to cut the Waves lead to 3-2 through two innings. The Bruins then tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch after a leadoff double and sacrifice bunt. UCLA then took the lead on an RBI-single after a one-out triple.
Pepperdine got a run back on the Bruins in the fifth inning on a leadoff solo blast from Cook. UCLA then retook the lead on a one-out RBI double. UCLA got another run in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead through six.
The Bruins added two runs in the seventh on a two-RBI triple to extend their lead to 8-4. An RBI groundout plated another, giving the Bruins a 9-4 lead through seven innings of play.
In the eighth, the Waves got back-to-back doubles from
Justin Lutes (Las Vegas, Nev./College of Southern Nevada) and Johnson started the inning to get Pepperdine to within four. An RBI-groundout from
Greg Melhalff (Clackamas, Ore./Clackamas HS) plated another, pushing the score to 9-6 Bruins.
Grant Schoen's (Clackamas, Ore./Clackamas HS) first career hit came as an RBI double to get the Waves to within just two runs, at 9-7. Caparis got his third hit of the day to drive Schoen in and bring the Waves to within one.
UCLA added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly. They got two more on a two-RBI double, pushing their lead to 12-8. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch gave them another run and a 13-8 lead. Another bases-loaded free pass gave the Bruins a 14-8 lead. The Bruins got two more runs on a 2-RBI double. UCLA drew yet another bases-loaded walk to take a16-8 lead into the ninth.
In the ninth, the Waves got a runner to second, but no further.
UP NEXT
The Waves return to the diamond on Saturday, heading back to Los Angeles, this time to take on USC. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
