SPOKANE, Wash. - The Pepperdine baseball team withstood four lead changes in Saturday's game to take the series. 
 
The Waves (14-37, 8-15) stayed consistent in offense and resilient on defense to outlast the Bulldogs (19-29, 14-9) in a momentum-dominant game. Twelve hits and two home runs aided Pepperdine to be the only WCC team to take a series from Gonzaga at Patterson Baseball Complex this season.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Senior outfielder Connor Walsh (Niceville, Fla.) had another fantastic night, hitting two home runs and tallying five RBIs.
 
Senior infielder Luke Pemberton (Boulder, Colo.) did a solid defensive job in left field and first base, catching a line drive for the final out of the game with the tying runner on base.
 
Junior Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) had two hits and two RBIs on the evening.
 
 
RECAP
 
Pepperdine found themselves down four early. Without being able to find a way around the bases, the offense failed to put any runs up through the first two innings.
 
Gonzaga capitalized when possible, scoring two in the first off a two-run home run and two in the second with two hits. By the start of the third inning, the Bulldogs had a 4-0 advantage.
 
A solo home run by Walsh in the top of the third would give the Waves life. Gonzaga was unable to add to the lead in the bottom half of the inning and Pepperdine had cut the deficit by one to trail 4-1 going into the fourth.
 
WIth the most productive inning for either team, the Waves would score four to take the lead in the top of the fourth. A leadoff walk by junior infielder Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) led to two runners in scoring position with nobody out after senior infielder Charles Masino (Newbury Park, Calif.) dropped a double in left field. Pemberton reached first safely on a bunt and scored Nunez for the first run of the inning. Waves trailed 4-2 with no outs and runners at the corners. A walk by junior catcher Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) loaded the bases for leadoff designated hitter Rubin. Putting the ball in play, he reached first safely while scoring Masino. Directly after, senior infielder Brady Renck (Longmont, Colo.) dropped a ball into right field, scoring Pemberton. Tied game at 4-4. For his second RBI of the day, Walsh sent a sac fly into center field to score Rubin and give Pepperdine the 5-4 lead by the middle of the inning.
 
Gonzaga was not going down without a fight. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs took the lead back, scoring two on two hits and a defensive error for a 6-5 edge over Pepperdine at the end of four.
 
Responding immediately, the Waves tied the game up. With two outs, Masino hit his second double of the day to keep the inning alive. Switching spots with Masino, Pemberton nailed a double of his own in center field to tie things up at 6-6 by the end of the fifth inning.
 
No response from the Bulldogs gave the Waves the green light to take the lead in the sixth inning. For his third RBI of the day, Walsh sent a double sailing to the left-center wall, scoring Renck who had put himself in a scoring position by reaching base being hit by a pitch and stealing second. With three innings to go, Pepperdine led 7-6.
 
Neither team produced a run in the following six outs, leaving the seventh to be the sole scoreless inning.
 
Giving the Waves room to breathe, Walsh hit his third home run in two days, recording his fourth and fifth RBI of the day as Renck was on first from being walked. Heading into the bottom of the eighth, Gonzaga was staring down a three run deficit.
 
The Bulldogs got one back in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 9-7 game.
 
Getting the run back, Rubin dropped a ball in left field, scoring Pemberton who had previously reached base on a walk.
 
The bottom of the ninth had both teams holding their breath as Gonzaga got one back. Down two, the tying run was on first with another runner on second. In a full count with the chance to tie and potentially win the game, Pemberton took all the wind out of the Bulldogs' sails as he snatched a line drive out of the air to win the game.
 
Pepperdine survived the thrilling Saturday night game in a 10-8 win. The Waves currently sit in sixth place in the WCC standings with one game to go. A Pepperdine win would ensure a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for the conference tournament next week. A loss would mean Loyola Marymount would have to lose to San Francisco. Both games start at 1p.m. tomorrow.
 
UP NEXT
Pepperdine closes out the regular season with the series finale against Gonzaga tomorrow at 1 p.m.