MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine baseball team opens the 2023 season on its home turf, hosting Boston College for a three game series at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, Feb. 17 - Pepperdine (0-0) vs. Boston College (0-0) at 1:30 PM
Saturday, Feb. 18 - Pepperdine vs. Boston College at 1 PM
Sunday, Feb. 19 - Pepperdine vs. Boston College 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.
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.
SERIES VS. BOSTON COLLEGE: Pepperdine and Boston College have not met prior to the 2023 season.
LAST YEAR: The Waves had an overall record of 24-26, including a 12-15 WCC record.
John Peck, Charles Masino and
Cole Sheehan all received All-WCC postseason accolades with Peck being named to the first team, Masino received honorable mention and Sheehan earned recognition on the WCC All-Freshman team.
WCC PRESEASON: Pepperdine is predicted to finish sixth in the West Coast Conference this year. The whole list is as follows: 1. Gonzaga; 2. San Diego; 3. BYU; 4. Portland; 5. LMU;
6. Pepperdine; 7. Santa Clara; 8. Saint Mary's; 9. San Francisco; 10. Pacific.
Junior infielder
John Peck was named to the preseason All-WCC team.
THE SQUAD: The Waves return 25 players from last year's squad including nine key returners. Pepperdine welcomes 15 newcomers, including three transfers.
On the pitching side, senior
Shane Telfer led the team with a 2.45 ERA and a 2-1 overall record. Telfer recorded 50 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched. Additionally, Pepperdine returns sophomore
Bobby Christy who had 17 appearances and an ERA of 3.50, junior
Brandon Llewellyn who made 13 starts and appearances and fifth-year senior
Jack Baird with an overall record of 3-1 for a 3.93 ERA and had two saves.
The Waves bring back some top producers in juniors
John Peck, Charles Masino,
Connor Bradshaw, as well as sophomore
Cole Sheehan and senior
Ryan Johnson. Peck led the squad in batting average (.361), on-base percentage (.417), hits (60), total bases (96) and stolen bases (seven) and started 40 games last year. Peck raked seven home runs– which tied him for 11th in the WCC– 11 doubles and two triples. Peck had 33 RBI on the year, good for 13th in the WCC. His seven stolen bases also tied him at 16th in the conference. Peck had the most multi-hit games on the squad with 23 and the team's most on-base streak at 24. He also had the second-longest hitting streak at 15 games.
Masino played in 45 games last season and ranked second on the team with a .313 batting average, which ranked 11th in the WCC. He plated 52 hits on the year including four doubles, one triple and his first two career home runs. He also ranked second on the team in on-base percentage at .375. Masino had 18 RBI during the season, which ranked him fifth on the team. Bradshaw started and played in all 50 games last season platting a .268 batting average. He collected 55 hits including 10 doubles, a team-high three triples and five homers. Bradshaw brought in 26 runs and had a .420 slugging percentage. Johnson also started and played in all 50 games last year, going yard a team-high 10 times and led the squad in RBI with 37. Johnson also led the Waves in doubles with 12.
COACHING STAFF: 2023 marks the eighth 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 NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 20 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also 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 2021- 22). Located in scenic Malibu, California, 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 #55 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
