MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team made solid contact with the ball all afternoon, recording nine hits, but could not catch up to San Diego after a five-run fifth inning.
 
The Waves (12-26, 6-7) got on base in five of the nine innings, threatening to score more often than not. After tying it up at two by the end of the third, the Toreros (24-12, 9-4) took over to outscore the Waves 9-3 the remainder of the game, handing Pepperdine an 11-5 loss.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Junior infielder Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) went 3-for-5, good for three RBIs including a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning.
 
Junior catcher Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) hit 2-for-3 today, bringing home two of the Waves' five runs.
 
RECAP
 
With just one hit through the first two innings, sophomore RHP Nick Bonn (Laguna Beach, Calif.) had an ideal start on the mound.
 
San Diego would get on the scoreboard first through two defensive errors, squeaking out a pair of unearned runs to go up 2-0 by the middle of the third inning.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, Savage reached first base being hit by a pitch and Rubin would look to even the score. Dropping a ball right over the left field wall, Rubin tallied his first home run of the year to tie it up 2-2 by the end of the third.
 
The Toreros got the offense going in the top of the fourth, responding with a home run of their own as well as five singles. Small ball killed Pepperdine as San Diego scored five to go up 7-2 by the middle of the inning.
 
Refusing to go down without a fight, the Waves responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Senior outfielder Connor Walsh (Niceville, Fla.) was hit by a pitch to advance to first before senior infielder Charles Masino (Newbury Park, Calif.) hit into a fielder's choice, putting himself on first with two out. With junior infielder Luke Pemberton (Boulder, Colo.) also getting hit by a pitch, two were on as Savage entered the batter's box. Singling through the right side, Masino would score from second and runners were at the corners. Going the opposite direction, senior outfielder Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.) singled through the left side of the field, scoring Pemberton. The rally would be cut short but Pepperdine made the game competitive, trailing 7-4 by the end of the fourth.
 
The sixth and seventh inning were not offensively productive for the Waves as the Toreros scored three unanswered runs. San Diego led 10-4 by the end of the seventh inning.
 
On three singles, the Waves were able to get one back in the bottom of the eighth. The same three base runners from the fourth inning would find themselves in the same position as Walsh and Masino hit back-to-back singles into center field. It would be Savage again, this time through the left side of the field, to single and score Walsh, bringing the Waves one run closer, down 10-5.
 
Pepperdine would not answer San Diego's insurance run in the top of the ninth, falling to 6-7 in conference play with an 11-5 loss.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves host game two of the series against the Toreros at Eddy D. Field Stadium tomorrow at 1 p.m.