SPOKANE, Wash. - The Pepperdine baseball team snapped a 16 game losing streak in a commanding way, beating Gonzaga 15-5 in the series opener.
The Waves (13-37, 7-15) had 18 hits on the afternoon, including three home runs and back-to-back five run innings to overpower the Bulldogs (19-28, 14-8) to stay in contention for the West Coast Conference tournament.
BIG WAVES
Sophomore RHP
Nick Bonn (Laguna Beach, Calif.) pitched for 8.0 innings only allowing eight hits with five strikeouts and five runs.
Junior designated hitter
Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with a double and the first home run of the day.
Graduate infielder
Brady Renck (Longmont, Colo.) hit the second home run of the day, going 4-for-6 on the afternoon.
Senior outfielder
Connor Walsh (Niceville, Fla.) had a career high seven RBIs with a grand slam in the seventh.
RECAP
Wasting no time, the first pitch of the game was sent out of the ballpark by Rubin. With a 1-0 lead, the Waves scored another thanks to two singles from Renck and junior infielder
Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) By the middle of the first inning, it was already 2-0 Pepperdine.
Responding swiftly, the Gonzaga offense got to work. Three hits, including a double, scored three as the Bulldogs took a 3-2 edge by the end of the first inning.
The second home run of the day came from Renck, sending the ball over the right field wall, scoring two to give the Waves a 4-2 advantage.
With only three hits through the next four innings, the Bulldogs struggled to string anything together offensively as Bonn created easy outs for his defense, including a seven-pitch inning in the fourth.
Pepperdine entered the sixth inning with the same 4-3 lead from the second. Starting the inning off strong, senior
Charles Masino (Newbury Park, Calif.) singled to left field and proceeded to steal second, advancing to third on a Bulldog error. A double by senior
Luke Pemberton (Boulder, Colo.) scored Masino easily, extending the Waves lead. Three more hits, including a bases-clearing double by Walsh and RBI singles by senior outfielder
Connor Bradshaw (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and freshman utility player
Corwin Hemmingsen (Cave Creek, Ariz.) would score a total of five in the inning. Pepperdine led 9-3 going into the bottom half of the sixth.
Gonzaga got two back in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the Pepperdine lead to four with a 9-5 lead.
The Waves did not take their foot off the gas, scoring five for the second inning in a row in the top of the seventh. For his fourth hit of the game, Masino led the inning off just as the sixth with a single. Pemberton being walked followed by a bunt by junior catcher
Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) put runners on first and second with one out. Rubin threaded a ball down the left field line to score the first of the inning and put two runners in scoring position. Renck's seven-pitch at bat resulted in a single to load the bases. Walsh recorded his second home run of the season with emphasis, sending a grand slam sailing over the left field wall to put the game out of reach for Gonzaga. Pepperdine headed back on defense with a 14-5 lead in the seventh inning.
For good measure, Walsh recorded his seventh RBI of the day in the top of the eighth and scored Rubin, who had reached first on a walk and advanced to third on a Renck single. Gonzaga had no response throughout the rest of the game.
Pepperdine won for the first time since April 9 with a convincing 15-5 win. Just one game behind Loyola Marymount, the Waves are fighting to extend the season by earning the sixth spot in the West Coast Conference tournament with two regular season games remaining.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine continues their three-game series against Gonzaga tomorrow at 6 p.m.
