MORAGA, California – The Pepperdine baseball team dropped its West Coast Conference weekend series finale 7-3 to Saint Mary's on Sunday afternoon at Louis Guisto Field.
The Waves (17-13, 6-6) fell behind Saint Mary's (20-12, 4-8) in the first inning 1-0 and then tied the game 1-1 in the top of the third inning, but a two-run bottom of three and three-run bottom of four gave the Gaels a 6-1 lead and never led up. Saint Mary's won the WCC series 2-1.
BIG WAVES
- Junior infielder Ryan Johnson (Tempe, Ariz./Seton Catholic HS) went 2-for-3 including the Waves' only double.
- Sophomore designated hitter Charles Masino (Newbury Park, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) hit his first career home run and had two RBI on the day.
- Junior LHP Shane Telfer (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) struck out a career-high eight batters.
GAME RECAP
The Gaels took advantage of errors and grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the third inning with one out,
Zach Chonkich (Redlands, Calif./Redlands HS) hit a single to left field that advanced
Michael Winaker (Walnut Creek, Calif./San Ramon HS) to second. Saint Mary's threw a wild pitch that moved Chonkich and Winaker to second and third. Masino smacked a deep sacrifice fly to left field and scored the Waves' first run to tie the game 1-1. In the bottom of the third inning, the Gaels utilized wild pitches by the Waves to score two more runs and take the lead 3-1.
Saint Mary's had three runs inning on four hits and extended its lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning. Masino led off the top of the sixth inning when he roped a home run over the right center field wall to get the second run for Pepperdine and make it 6-2. The Gaels earned a base runner on second after a Waves error in the bottom of the sixth. A passed ball moved the runner to third for Saint Mary's and on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Naiper of the Gaels added to their lead at 7-2.
In the top of the final frame,
Connor Bradshaw (New Rochelle, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling HS) led off with a single to right to try and start a comeback. Johnson sent a rocket down the left field line for a double that advanced Bradshaw to third.
Cole Sheehan (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe HS) sent a ball to left field for a sacrifice fly that scored Bradshaw and made it 7-3. The Gaels shut down the inning with a fly ball and a strikeout to clinch the series.
UP NEXT
The Waves will be back in Malibu for a four-game homestand beginning on Tuesday, April 12, hosting #15 UCLA for a non-conference game. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the WCC Network.