CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – John Peck of the Pepperdine baseball team hit the go-ahead RBI triple in the top of the ninth inning against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to collect the 7-5 win in the last game of the 2022 Kleberg Bank College Classic.
The Waves (5-2) made their second ninth-inning comeback of the season and collected two of their nine hits in the top of the ninth against the Islanders (4-4).
BIG WAVES
- Freshman infielder Devon Walczykowski (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Jesuit HS) went 2-for-4 including a double and one RBI. He also crossed the plate twice.
- Sophomore infielder John Peck (Moorpark, Calif./Moorpark HS) went 2-for-4 including two triples and one RBI. He also scored one run. It's just the sixth time in the last 20 years that a Wave has hit two triples in a game.
- Graduate student RHP Dane Morrow (Malibu, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) threw 5.0 innings, giving up six hits.
- Senior RHP Jack Baird (Parker, Colo./Legend HS) threw 3.0 innings, only giving up three hits and collected his third win of the season.
- Senior LHP Grant Georges (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound HS) pitched in the ninth inning, giving up no hits and striking out two batters to earn his second save of the season.
GAME RECAP
The Islanders hit a home run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. The Waves were retired in order in the top of the second while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi hit a leadoff triple in the bottom of the inning and a sacrifice fly to score its second run of the game.
After a scoreless and hitless third inning,
Ryan Johnson (Tempe, Ariz./Seton Catholic HS) drew a walk in the top of the fourth to start the Waves' rally.
Connor Bradshaw (New Rochelle, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling HS) singled to center field, moving Johnson to second with no outs. Walczykowski hit an RBI double to center field to get the Waves on the board at 2-1. An error by the Islanders moved Walczykowski to second and scored Bradshaw for the second run of the inning.
Nolan Lingley (Tracy, Calif./Ripon Christian School) flew out to center field, but Walczykowski tagged up and advanced to third to give Pepperdine runners on the corners.
Quintt Landis (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) had an RBI fielder's choice to give the Waves the 3-2 lead and ultimately rounded out the inning with Pepperdine up.
The Waves' bats came alive in the top of the sixth. Back-to-back hits from Walczykowski and
Mike Malinchak (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage HS) put them in scoring position for Lingley, who grounded out to second base, but scored Pepperdine's fourth run of the game at 4-2. Another RBI for Landis on a single to left field gave the Waves a 5-2 lead. The Islanders answered back with two runs to get within one at 5-4 heading to the eighth. A solo blast from the Islanders tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth.
With two outs in the top of the ninth,
Cam Conley (Lincoln University, Pa./Malvern Prep) singled to left field to start another rally for Pepperdine. Peck, again with a 0-0 count, hit an RBI right side triple to get the Waves back in the lead at 6-5. The Islanders changed pitchers and on a ball in the dirt, Peck crossed home plate for the insurance run at 7-5. Georges came in for the save and popped up one of the Islander batters and struck out the other two to give the Waves their first win of the tournament.
UP NEXT
The Waves will stay in Texas for one more day to play a single non-tournament game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday, Feb. 28. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. PT/2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.