Pepperdine Drops Close Game to Portland in Series Opener

Friday, March 17

Portland, OR

6:00 p.m. PT

Pepperdine University

5-10, 0-1

Portland

11-6, 1-0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Pepperdine	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	9	0
Portland	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	1	X	5	13	3

Grant Schoen

Photo by: Jeff Golden

Pepperdine Drops Close Game to Portland in Series Opener

3/17/2023 9:50:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score

By: by Athletic Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Pepperdine baseball team went back and forth, but ultimately fell 5-4 to Portland on Friday night at Joe Etzel Field in game one of the West Coast Conference series opener.

The Waves (5-10, 0-1) and Pilots (11-6, 1-0) exchanged the lead four times and were tied three times, but Portland scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Pepperdine was unable to rally back.

BIG WAVES

Senior outfielder Grant Schoen (Clackamas, Ore./Clackamas HS) had a career-high in hits going 3-for-4 on the night. He also crossed home plate once.
Senior infielder Ryan Johnson (Tempe, Ariz./Seton Catholic HS) was 1-for-2 on the night including a double and a walk. Johnson also had two RBI and scored one run.
Junior infielder Lincoln Orellana (Apple Valley, Calif./Sheldon HS/Hawai'i/American River College) was 2-for-4 and scored one run.
Junior outfielder Charles Masino (Newbury Park, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) had one hit and one RBI.

GAME RECAP

Grant Schoen led the game off with a single. On a ground ball to third, Schoen advanced to second with one out. Ryan Johnson sent one down the left field line for an RBI double to give Pepperdine an early 1-0 lead. Charles Masino followed with a single up the middle which brought Johnson home and gave the Waves a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, the Pilots tied the game 2-all on a sacrifice fly to center and a single to right field. Portland took the lead, 3-2, in the bottom of the third inning after a sacrifice fly to center.

After three scoreless innings, Lincoln Orellana led off the top of the seventh with a single to center. On a bunt, Orellana was able to advance to second and was safe after the Portland infielder didn't catch the ball in time. The Waves then had runners on second and third after a sacrifice bunt by Schoen. Pepperdine took advantage of a Portland error and tied the game 3-all. Johnson then hit a deep sacrifice fly to center to bring in the fourth run and give Pepperdine back the lead, 4-3. In the bottom half of the seventh the Pilots tied the game again, 4-4, on a sac fly to right field.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Portland went up by a run on a sac fly, 5-4. The Waves had the lead off man on first in the top of the eighth inning, but were retired shortly after to close the game.

UP NEXT

The Waves and Pilots will face off in game two of the series in the WCC opening weekend on Saturday, March 18. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be live on the WCC Network.