MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team tallied the first hits in both games but could not convert to runs as Western Michigan carried momentum from yesterday to two overpowering wins.
The Waves (1-6) were fighting from behind all day as the Broncos found home plate first in the top of the third in both games. Despite a combined total of 15 runs, only six hits accumulated between the games leading to an 8-2 loss in game one and 11-4 loss in game two.
GAME #1 BIG WAVES
Junior infielder Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) recorded the first hit of the game on a double to left field. He ended up scoring later in the game after reaching base being hit by a pitch.
Graduate infielder Brady Renck (Longmont, Colo.) came around to score the Waves' first run of the game after reaching base off a single down the middle and was brought home by graduate Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.).
GAME #2 BIG WAVES
Redshirt junior outfielder Luke Pemberton (Boulder, Colo.) blasted the first homerun of the season into center field, scoring himself and redshirt senior Connor Walsh (Niceville, Fla.).
Sophomore RHP Gunnar Nichols (Burbank, Calif.) recorded five strikeouts through 3.0 innings pitched.
GAME RECAP
The Waves were defensive-minded starting game one, opting twice to throw a man out at home to keep the game scoreless by the end of the second inning. The Broncos were able to break through in the third, scoring four runs on four hits.
Striking back, Upstill knocked Renck in after junior infielder Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) walked and a sacrificial bunt was laid down by junior catcher Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada), making the score 4-1 WMU at the end of the fourth.
Throughout the next two innings the Broncos would score four unanswered runs before Rubin was able to score for the Waves on a fielder's choice at-bat by Walsh.
As this was the first of a true doubleheader, the game would end in an 8-2 loss after seven.
Game two started similarly with defense at the forefront as Nichols recorded three strikeouts in his first 2.0 innings pitched. The third inning is where things would go awry for the Waves when the Broncos were able to capitalize on four singles, scoring four runs.
It was Upstill who answered for Pepperdine in the bottom of the third with a single to right field. After advancing to third on two wild pitches, he was brought home by a sacrificial fly off the bat of Rubin. The Waves would enter the fourth down 3-1.
Things got out of hand in the top of the sixth inning, beginning with a Bronco double to left center. Taking advantage of a Pepperdine error, WMU scored a total of five runs, including two unearned.
Trying to get the Waves back in the game, Pemberton launched the team's first home run of the year over the center field wall scoring himself and Walsh who had reached on a single to left field.
The effort was not enough to overcome the Broncos' offense. Pepperdine would fall in game two 11-4.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine closes out the series with Western Michigan tomorrow, Sunday Feb. 25 with a scheduled first pitch of 12:00 p.m. PT.
