MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine baseball team hits the road to Northern California for its next West Coast Conference weekend series visiting Santa Clara.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 22 - Pepperdine at Santa Clara at 6 PM
Saturday, April 23 - Pepperdine at Santa Clara at 1 PM
Sunday, April 24 - Pepperdine at Santa Clara at 12 PM
SERIES VS. SANTA CLARA: The Waves hold the overall series 110- 65-2 against the Broncos. Dating back to the 2018 season, Pepperdine has won all three series, including a complete sweep over Santa Clara in 2018. The Waves have won seven out of nine meetings since 2018.
LAST WEEK: The Waves dropped their West Coast Conference weekend series 2-1 against San Francisco. In game one, Pepperdine defeated the Dons 4-3 in 14 innings.
Charles Masino hit a walk-off single to center field in the bottom of the 14th.
Zach Chonkich tied his career-high with three hits.
Grant Georges threw 2.0 innings while only giving up one hit and had a career-high four strikeouts. Georges collected his first win of the season. The Dons answered back in game two and took down the Waves 7-0. Masino and
Cole Sheehan each posted one hit. Pepperdine fell 6-3 in game three of the series to San Francisco.
Connor Bradshaw had two hits on the day and Masino smacked a two-run home run, which was the second of his career. On Tuesday, the Waves hosted CSU Bakersfield and collected a 7-2 win. Bradshaw,
Cam Conley and
Michael Winaker each had two hits apiece, while
Ryan Johnson roped a home run.
Nathan Diamond threw 2.0 innings and collected his third win of the season in relief.
OFFENSIVE STREAKS: The Waves' designated hitter
Charles Masino is currently on an 16-game hitting streak, which is currently a season-high for the Waves, as well as on a current 18-game reaching 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.
John Peck is third in batting average (.351), tied for eighth in RBI (25) and tied for 12th in home runs (5).
Charles Masino is fifth in batting average (.345).
Ryan Johnson is tied for eighth in RBI (25) and tied for sixth in home runs (6).
On the pitching side,
Trevor Hinkel is seventh in ERA (3.51), tied for 10th in wins (3) and tied 20th in strikeouts (36).
Brandon Llewellyn is eighth in ERA (3.52) and tied for 10th in wins (3).
Grant Georges is tied for first in saves (7).
Jack Baird and
Nathan Diamond are both tied for 10th in wins with three each.
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.
