MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team led for the first four innings, but Portland took over swiftly and steadily increased their lead through the remainder of the game.
 
The Waves (12-34, 6-13) were off to a promising 3-0 start before the Pilots (29-17, 14-5) scored 10 in the fifth to take a commanding lead, never letting up on the gas to win 23-3 in Friday afternoon's game.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Junior catcher Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) hit .500, rocketing a solo home run in the second inning. 
 
Junior designated hitter Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) went 2-for-3, including a home run of his own and a double.
 
RECAP
 
The Waves struck first for the fifth game in a row. Two were on with no outs after Rubin was hit by a pitch, advancing to second thanks to a single to right centerfield by graduate infielder Brady Renck (Longmont, Colo.). Senior outfielder Connor Bradshaw (New Rochelle, N.Y.) walked to load the bases. Advancing all the runners 90 feet, freshman utility player Corwin Hemmingsen (Cave Creek, Ariz.) sent a sac fly into center field, putting Pepperdine up 1-0 by the end of the first inning.
 
Putting up three strikeouts in two innings, sophomore RHP Nick Bonn (Laguna Beach, Calif.) retired the first six Pilots to step up to the plate.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning, Savage sent a ball over the left field wall, doubling the Waves lead with one swing of the bat. Rubin, directly after Savage, placed the ball exactly where Savage had, getting to take his time rounding the bases. The dugout was fired up as back-to-back home runs gave Pepperdine a 3-0 lead.
 
Over the third and fourth inning, the Pilots got two runs back off six hits, shrinking the Waves lead to 3-2 by the end of the fourth.
 
Things began to spiral out of control for Pepperdine in the fifth inning. Seven hits by Portland, including a grand slam by Pilot infielder Jack Thomson, resulted in 10 runs as Pepperdine trailed 12-3 at the end of the fifth inning.
 
Four hits throughout the final four innings would not result in any additional runs for the Waves as the Pilots were able to score 11 on eight hits in the final three innings.
 
Pepperdine dropped the first of three against Portland 23-3.
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine continues the series against Portland tomorrow at 1 p.m. with senior day festivities beginning at 12:40 p.m.