MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine baseball team is on the road again for another West Coast Conference weekend series visiting Saint Mary's.
 
SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 8 - Pepperdine at Saint Mary's at 3 PM
Saturday, April 9 - Pepperdine at Saint Mary's at 1 PM
Sunday, April 10 - Pepperdine at Saint Mary's at 1 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. SAINT MARY'S: The Waves have the overall series lead against the Gaels 128-39. Dating back to the 2018 season, Pepperdine has won five of the last nine games. The Waves took the series last season at Eddy. D Field Stadium and in 2018 on the Gaels' home turf, Pepperdine won the series. Saint Mary's collected the series in 2019, 2-1.
 
LAST WEEK: The Waves had their first road West Coast Conference weekend series against Gonzaga, falling 2-1 in the series. In game one, Pepperdine and Gonzaga went to 11 innings, and the Waves defeated the Bulldogs 7-5 on a go-ahead two-run home run by John Peck. Peck had two hits on the night and two RBI. Charles Masino, Connor Bradshaw and Quintt Landis also had two hits apiece. Bradshaw had a triple and a double in game one, while Landis hit his first career home run and marked a new career-high RBI with three. Tyler Murrah threw 3.0 innings in relief to collect his second win of the season while allowing only one hit and striking out two batters. On Saturday, the Waves fell 7-2 to the Bulldogs. Masino had two hits and crossed the plate once. Mike Malinchak went 1-for-2 on the night with two walks, an RBI and the Waves' only double. In Sunday's rubber match, Gonzaga clinched the series with a 7-4 win over Pepperdine. Cole Sheehan had a career-high two hits, including a triple, and scored two runs. Nolan Lingley hit his first career home run. On Tuesday, for a midweek matchup, Pepperdine downed UC Santa Barbara 9-1. Masino went 3-for-4 on the day with one RBI. Ryan Johnson had two hits including a two-run home run. Johnson had three RBI and crossed the plate once. Shane Telfer threw 3.1 innings in relief to get his first win of the season, while only allowing two hits and striking out three hitters.
 
OFFENSIVE STREAKS: The Waves' designated hitter Charles Masino is currently on an eight-game hitting streak as well as on a current 10-game reached base streak. Additionally, Cam Conley is on a seven-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. John Peck is fourth in batting average (.355), tied for third in RBI (25), tied for sixth in home runs (5) and tied for 16th in stolen bases (4). Ryan Johnson is tied for ninth in RBI (20) and tied for 11th in home runs (4). Charles Masino is tied for 10th in batting average (.333) while Quintt Landis is 14th in batting average (.327).
 
On the pitching side, Brandon Llewellyn is fifth in ERA (2.51) and tied for seventh in wins (3). Grant Georges is tied for first in saves (7). Trevor Hinkel is 17th in ERA (3.99) and tied for 19th in wins (2). Jack Baird is tied for seventh in wins (3). Dane Morrow, Nathan Diamond and Tyler Murrah are all tied for 19th 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.