MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine baseball team is back on its home turf this weekend for a West Coast Conference series hosting San Francisco. Both schools head into this series tied for fourth place.
 
SCHEDULE:
Thursday, April 14 - Pepperdine vs. San Francisco at 3 PM
Friday, April 15 - Pepperdine vs. San Francisco at 3 PM
Saturday, April 16 - Pepperdine vs. San Francisco at 1 PM
 
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.
 
COVERAGE: All three games will be streamed on the WCC Network. Karl Winter will be on the call for Thursday, and veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, a 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, will be behind the mic for game two and three. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available at pepperdinewaves.com.
 
SERIES VS. SAN FRANCISCO: Pepperdine holds the overall series 124-54 over San Francisco. The Waves have won seven out of the last nine meetings dating back to the 2018 season. Pepperdine has defeated the Dons in the last three series since 2018.
 
LAST WEEK: Pepperdine fell 2-1 to Saint Mary's in the West Coast Conference weekend series. In game one, the Gaels defeated the Waves 11-1. Cole Sheehan tied his career high in hits with two while Quintt Landis hit his second career home run and had the Waves' only RBI of the game. On Saturday, in game two, the Waves bounced back and took down the Gaels 7-1. Trevor Hinkel tied his career-high of 7.0 innings and gave up seven hits and one run. Hinkel struck out three hitters and collected his third win of the season. Connor Bradshaw, Charles Masino and Landis each had two hits. In the series finale, Saint Mary's downed Pepperdine 7-3. Ryan Johnson had two hits and the Waves' only double. Masino hit his first career home run and had two RBI. Shane Telfer struck out a career-high eight batters. Pepperdine hosted UCLA for a non-conference midweek matchup and fell in a close game 9-7 on Tuesday. Three Waves had career-high hits including Masino with four, Zach Chonkich with three and Michael Winaker with two. Cam Conley hit his third career home run.
 
OFFENSIVE STREAKS: The Waves' designated hitter Charles Masino is currently on an 12-game hitting streak as well as on a current 14-game reached base 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. Charles Masino is fourth in batting average (.355). John Peck is sixth in batting average (.351), tied for fourth in RBI (25) and tied for ninth in home runs (5). Ryan Johnson is tied for eighth in RBI (24) and tied for ninth in home runs (5).
 
On the pitching side, Brandon Llewellyn is seventh in ERA (3.17) and tied for eighth in wins (3). Grant Georges is tied for first in saves (7). Trevor Hinkel is 10th in ERA (3.57) and tied for eighth in wins (3). Jack Baird is tied for eighth in wins (3).
 
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.