MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine baseball team hits the road to visit, first-place Gonzaga for its first West Coast Conference road series.
 
SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 1 - Pepperdine at Gonzaga at 6 PM
Saturday, April 2 - Pepperdine at Gonzaga at 6 PM
Sunday, April 3 - Pepperdine at Gonzaga at 12 PM
 
COVERAGE: All three games will be streamed on the WCC Network. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available at pepperdinewaves.com.
 
SERIES VS. GONZAGA: Pepperdine holds the overall series lead against Gonzaga 59-43. The Waves and Bulldogs have each taken a series within the last two seasons. Pepperdine captured the series at home in 2019 and Gonzaga secured the series last season at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
 
LAST WEEK: In the second West Coast Conference series weekend, Pepperdine swept Pacific. In game one, the Waves defeated the Tigers 8-4. John Peck went 2-for-2 with one RBI and scored two runs. Peck also reached base in all five plate appearances including two hit-by-pitches and a walk. Charles Masino, Ryan Johnson and Mike Malinchak all had two hits apiece. Brandon Llewellyn threw 6.0 innings and struck out three batters and collected his third win of the season. On Saturday, Pepperdine beat Pacific 5-3. The Waves held the Tigers scoreless through seven innings. Trevor Hinkel threw a career-high 7.0 innings while only giving up three hits. Hinkel also tied his career-high in strikeouts with seven. Peck and Malinchak each had two hits while Quintt Landis had the Waves' only double of the game. In the final game of the series, the Waves completed the sweep against the Tigers 5-3. Johnson went 3-for-4 including a three-run blast. Cam Conley went 2-for-3. Nathan Diamond threw 4.2 innings in relief to get the win while allowing five hits and striking out six hitters. Pepperdine hosted Long Beach State for a midweek matchup and fell 5-4. Malinchak had three hits while Connor Bradshaw had two hits with two RBI. Peck also had two hits including a solo home run and a double. Conley hit his second home run as a Wave.
 
OFFENSIVE STREAKS: The Waves' shortstop John Peck is currently on a 14-game hitting streak, with 13 games having at least two hits. He had a three-hits game against UCLA on Feb. 22. Peck had two doubles and a grand slam against the Bruins. Additionally, Peck has reached base in all 23 games so far this season. Waves' right fielder Mike Malinchak currently is on a 13-game hitting streak.
 
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 continue to have multiple players in the top-20 in WCC stats. John Peck is second in batting average (.387), fourth in RBI (22) and tied for seventh in home runs (4). Ryan Johnson is tied for 11th in RBI (17) and tied for 12th in home runs (3). Connor Bradshaw is tied for 13th in RBI (15). Mike Malinchak is 15th in batting average (.326).
 
On the pitching side, Brandon Llewellyn is seventh in ERA (2.63) and tied for sixth in wins (3). Grant Georges is first in saves (7). Trevor Hinkel is 11th in ERA (2.88), tied for 16th in strikeouts (26) and tied for 13th in wins (2). Jack Baird is tied for sixth in wins (3) while Dane Morrow is tied for 13th in wins (2). 
 
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.