MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine baseball team heads down the road to visit PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount for a West Coast Conference weekend series.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 13 - Pepperdine at LMU at 6 PM
Saturday, May 14 - Pepperdine at LMU at 6 PM
Sunday, May 15 - Pepperdine at LMU 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.
PCH CUP: An annual all-sport competition between two local rivals that are separated by just 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, the PCH Cup is in its 13th season of existence. Pepperdine has won 10 of the 12 years that this competition has been held.
SERIES VS. LMU: The Waves lead the overall series against the Lions 155-89. Pepperdine and LMU have each won five out of the last 10 games dating back to the 2018 season. In 2021, LMU took the series 2-1 at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
LAST WEEK: Pepperdine hosted WCC foe BYU over the weekend in a three game series, falling in all three to the Cougars. BYU took game one 4-2 on Thursday.
Charles Masino and
John Peck each posted two hits. Peck had the only double of the game. In game two, the Cougars defeated the Waves 6-3. Peck led the way going 3-for-5, while
Connor Bradshaw and
Cam Conley had two hits apiece. Conley hit his sixth home run of the season. Pepperdine dropped in the series finale 4-2 to BYU. Peck had two hits, while Bradshaw hit his fifth home run of the season.
Shane Telfer threw a career-high 5.0 innings and only gave up two hits. On Tuesday, the Waves traveled to San Luis Obispo to visit Cal Poly and were unable to come back in a 16-4 loss.
Cole Sheehan had a career-high three hits, including a double. Peck roped two hits on the night, including a two-run home run.
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.
OFFENSIVE STREAKS: The Waves' infielder/catcher
Ryan Johnson is currently on a seven-game hitting streak and has reached base in the last 10 games. Sophomore infielder
John Peck is on a six-game hitting streak and has an eight-game reached base streak. Peck's longest hitting streak this season is 15 and longest reached base streak is 24. Freshman infielder/catcher
Cole Sheehan has reached base in the last eight games, which is his longest.
WCC LEADERS: The Waves continue to have multiple players in the top-20 in WCC stats.
John Peck leads the WCC in batting average (.382) and is tied for 15th in RBI (29), tied for 15th in home runs (6) and tied for 20th in stolen bases (6).
Ryan Johnson is seventh in home runs (9) and tied for eighth in RBI (34).
Charles Masino is 18th in batting average (.313).
Cam Conley is tied for 15th in home runs (6).
Connor Bradshaw is tied for 20th in stolen bases (6).
On the pitching side,
Brandon Llewellyn is eighth in ERA (3.76) and tied for 18th in wins (3).
Trevor Hinkel is 15th in ERA (4.40), tied for 18th in wins (3) and tied 19th in strikeouts (45).
Grant Georges is fifth in saves (7).
Jack Baird, Nathan Diamond and
Tyler Murrah are all tied for 18th 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.
