LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Pepperdine baseball team exited in the opening round of the West Coast Conference tournament, losing to Saint Mary's 10-14 Wednesday afternoon.
Despite twelve hits and four home runs, the Waves (15-38, 9-15) fell to the Gaels (34-20, 16-8) in a back-and-forth heartbreaking game to close out Pepperdine's season.
BIG WAVES
Senior outfielder
Connor Walsh (Niceville, Fla.) batted .500 with two home runs.
Graduate infielder
Brady Renck (Longmont, Colo.) went 4-for-6 with a home run and three runs scored.
Senior outfielder
Connor Bradshaw (New Rochelle, N.Y.) had a home run of his own, going a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate with two walks.
RECAP
The Waves struck first thanks to Walsh. A solo home run in the top of the first inning put Pepperdine up 1-0 to start the game.
Saint Mary's responded with a punch. The next two innings, without a response in the top of the second inning, the Gaels put up six runs to take a 6-1 lead.
Slowly beginning to chip away at Saint Mary's lead, Pepperdine got right to work in the top of the third inning. Walsh's second home run of the day was directly followed by Bradshaw's home run to erase some of the Gael's insurance runs with a score of 6-3 by the middle of the third inning.
Sophomore RHP
Nick Bonn (Laguna Beach, Calif.) came in to pitch for the third inning, relieving starter LHP
Collin Valentine (Dallas, Texas). With help of a stellar throw off the mound by Bonn to first to get the batter, Pepperdine escaped the bottom half of the third without a run scored.
Kicking off the top of the fourth inning, junior infielder
Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) got on first with a walk. A single through the left hand side by senior infielder
Charles Masino (Newbury Park, Calif.) put two on with nobody out. Senior
Luke Pemberton (Boulder, Colo.) reached on a fielder's choice with Masino getting out at second, putting runners on the corners. Thanks to an error by the Gael's defense, junior
Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) tallied an RBI bringing Nunez home, cutting the Saint Mary's lead with a score of 6-4.
Getting the run back, the Gael's gave the Waves a three-run deficit to erase headed into the fifth inning.
A Renck single got the offense started as the ball dropped into center field. Walsh reached on the second Saint Mary's error of the day and Bradshaw was hit in the back to load the bases. Graduate outfielder
Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.) would get hit as well, bringing a run home. A hit by Nunez would bring Walsh sliding home to bring the Waves within one. A sac fly by Masino on the very next at bat would tie things up. The Gaels would go back on offense tied at seven headed to the bottom of the fifth inning.
Saint Mary's took the lead back as fast as they had lost it and Pepperdine was down 8-7 headed to the dugout.
Junior designated hitter
Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) was hit on the head to give him first base to start the inning. A well-placed single by Renck advanced Rubin to third and put runners on the corners with one out. Walsh walked to first to load the bases. The Gaels could not find the strike zone and an eight pitch at-bat walked a run in, tying the game. Upstill tallied an RBI on a groundout to second base, scoring Renck to give the Waves a 9-8 lead by the middle of the sixth inning.
The Gaels were not behind for long. Two runs would prompt a pitching change for the Waves as graduate RHP
Matthew Boyer (Edwardsville, Ill.) entered the game to get the final out of the inning. Pepperdine entered the final three innings down 10-9..
WIthout a run scored in the top of the seventh inning, Saint Mary's would break it open in the bottom half of the inning. Making solid contact with the ball, the Gaels recorded four runs to extend their lead 14-9 by the end of the seventh.
Attempting a rally, Renck nailed a ball over the right field wall for his fourth hit of the day. Unfortunately, Pepperdine would not be able to complete the comeback.
In the first round of the WCC tournament, the Waves fell to the Gaels 10-14, ending the 2024 season.
