MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team came back from a two run deficit in the final inning, scoring three runs on three hits to walk it off.
 
The Waves (10-20, 5-2) had battled from behind the entire game but three hits and three walks would prevent the Dons (15-15, 0-4) from picking up their first conference win as Pepperdine came out on top 5-4.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Sophomore RHP Nick Bonn (Huntington Beach, Calif.) pitched 7 ⅓ inning, giving up only two runs and two walks.
 
Junior infielder Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) in his first game since March 8 reached first every at-bat, including an intentional walk in the ninth inning.
 
Junior infielder Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) took the game-winning walk in the ninth.
 
RECAP
 
Starting the game with clutch catches, senior outfielder Connor Bradshaw (New Rochelle, N.Y.) had a diving catch in the top of the first to keep the score at zero early on. However, San Francisco found their way around the bases in the second inning. A left field homer by shortstop TJ Rogers scored two, enough to give the Dons the lead for the majority of the game.
 
Although the Waves had not gotten a run in yet, defense continued to keep them competitive as freshman utility player Corwin Hemmingsen (Cave Creek, Ariz.) made a heads up play at first base in the top of the fifth, throwing a runner out at home plate. The Dons would fail to score and the deficit would remain steady at two.
 
Pepperdine built on the defense's momentum, stringing a couple hits together to even up the score. Junior catcher Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) led the bottom of the fifth off with a single down the right field line. Advancing to third thanks to a single by junior outfielder Luke Pemberton (Boulder, Colo.), Savage was able to score on a fielder's choice off the bat of graduate infielder Brady Renck (Longmont, Colo). After Rubin was walked and a wild pitch to Bradshaw, Renck found his way home, evening the score 2-2 by the end of the fifth inning.
 
The next two innings would fall silent from both sides as Bonn sent six Dons packing in a row. San Francisco would find a run in the eighth on two hits as Pepperdine was unable to respond in the bottom half of the inning.
 
The Dons added yet another run in the top of the ninth, giving them a 4-2 advantage with the final three outs ahead of them. But the Waves have walked it off twice already this season, this team is no stranger to come-from-behind wins.
 
Junior infielder Jacob Rebrook (The Woodlands, Texas) came in as a pinch hitter, singling to left field and igniting the Waves' dugout. Pemberton walked to first, putting two on with one out. Leadoff hitter Renck sent a ball sailing into right field, finding himself on second base with Rebrook home. 4-3 Dons with only one out. Intentionally walking Rubin, the bases were loaded. Bradshaw stepped up and dropped a ball in right field, scoring Pemberton and tying the game 4-4. Nunez battled in the batter's box and on a 3-2 count, was thrown a ball to send him to first and the winning run home.
 
Pepperdine won 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth for their third walk-off win this season. The Waves improve to 5-2 in conference play, their best start in WCC action since April of 2022.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine is back for game two of the series at Eddy D. FIeld Stadium tomorrow, Saturday April 6 at 1 p.m.