MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine baseball team opens up West Coast Conference play by hosting San Diego for a weekend series.
 
SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 18 - Pepperdine vs. San Diego at 3 PM
Saturday, March 19 - Pepperdine vs. San Diego at 1 PM
Sunday, March 20 - Pepperdine vs. San Diego at 1 PM
 
COVERAGE: All three games will be streamed on the WCC Network. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, a 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, will be behind the microphone for all three games. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available at pepperdinewaves.com.
 
TICKETS: Patrons must have an e-ticket prior to arriving on campus. Pepperdine students, staff and faculty just need their Pepperdine ID card for entry. Tickets can be found at pepperdinewaves.com/tickets.
 
ENTRANCE/PARKING: Due to construction on campus, stadium parking and entrance guidance has changed. Please review the most updated information at www.pepperdinewaves.com/tickets.
 
SERIES VS. SAN DIEGO: Pepperdine holds the overall series lead against San Diego 134-82. In the last 10 games, dating back to the 2018 season, the Waves have won the last six against the Toreros.
 
LAST WEEK: In the last non-conference weekend series, Pepperdine hosted UConn and fell 2-1 in the series. On Friday, the Huskies defeated the Waves 6-2. John Peck had two hits on the day and Nolan Lingley had an RBI triple. In game two, Pepperdine nearly made a comeback but lost 3-2 against UConn. Ryan Johnson was 2-for-4 while Connor Bradshaw and Greg Mehlhaff each had solo home runs. In the series finale, the Waves defeated the Huskies 6-5. Mike Malinchak went 3-for-4 while Devon Walczykowski and Cam Conley went 2-for-4. Johnson also had one hit and two RBI. Peck had the only double of the game for Pepperdine with two RBI. Dane Morrow threw 6.0 innings and struck out four batters. Morrow also collected his second win of the season.
 
HONORS: Greg Mehlhaff notched the season's first West Coast Conference weekly honors for the Pepperdine baseball team when he was named Player of the Week on Feb. 21. He had a career weekend in the opening-season series sweep against Villanova starting at third base and hitting .538 (7-for-13) with four RBI and six runs scored. Mehlhaff hit a two-run homer and a double on opening day.
 
WCC LEADERS: The Waves have multiple players in the top-20 in WCC stats. John Peck is tied for third in RBI (16), tied for fourth in home runs (3) and tied for eighth in batting average (.367). Connor Bradshaw is tied for 11th in home runs (2) and tied for 17th in RBI (11). Peck and Bradshaw are also both tied at 16th in stolen bases (3). Ryan Johnson is also tied for 17th in RBI (11) and tied for 11th in home runs (2). Cam Conley is ranked 19th in batting average (.328). Greg Mehlhaff is the third Wave tied for 11th in home runs (2).
 
On the pitching side, Jack Baird is tied for first in wins (3). Dane Morrow is tied for sixth in wins (2) and tied for 17th in strikeouts (17). Grant Georges is third in saves with four. Brandon Llewellyn is 10th in ERA (3.04). Trevor Hinkel is 12th in ERA with 3.38 and tied for 13th in strikeouts with 19.
 
WCC PRESEASON: Pepperdine is predicted to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference this year. The whole list is as follows: 1. Gonzaga; 2. BYU; 3. San Diego; 4. San Francisco; 5. Pepperdine; 6. Portland; 7. LMU; 8. Saint Mary's; 9. Santa Clara; 10. Pacific.
 
Sophomore infielder John Peck was named to the preseason All-WCC team.
 
THE SQUAD: The Waves return 30 players from last year's squad including eight key returners. Pepperdine welcomes nine true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen to the squad.
 
On the pitching side, sophomore Brandon Llewellyn led the team last year with five wins, a 3.38 ERA and 43 strikeouts. Additionally, Pepperdine returns junior Trevor Hinkel who made 14 appearances and started 12 games, senior Trevor Kniskern who made 11 appearances and had two saves and junior Nathan Diamond who had a 4.76 ERA and two saves.
 
The Waves bring back some top producers in sophomores Connor Bradshaw and John Peck, as well as junior Ryan Johnson. Bradshaw hit .291, posted 11 doubles, one home run, 12 RBIs, 23 runs scored and had a team-best eight stolen bases. Peck started all 45 games last season as a freshman and batted .256 with eight doubles, seven home runs, 19 RBI and 32 runs scored. Johnson led the team last season and was ranked second in the West Coast Conference in RBI with 45. He hit .237 with seven doubles, eight home runs and 29 runs scored.
 
LAST YEAR: The Waves had an overall record of 20-25, including a 12-15 WCC record. Reese Alexiades and Billy Cook were both named to the All-West Coast Conference first team. Additionally, Cook and Wyatt Young were selected in the 2021 MLB Draft. Cook was selected in the 10th round by the Baltimore Orioles, the highest-drafted player since 2017. Young was selected in the 15th round by the New York Mets and was also the 2022 John Scolinos Award recipient.
 
COACHING STAFF: 2022 marks the seventh 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 Cameron Rowland in the summer of 2021 to fill the team's role as pitching coach. Rowland has coaching experience at the collegiate and high school levels, most notably spending the past four years with San Francisco State. 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.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Pepperdine won its only College World Series title in 1992 and also played in the 1979 CWS. The Waves made their 30th and most recent 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 10 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.