The Pepperdine baseball team heads to Riverside to play the Lancers in the first midweek matchup of the season before heading south to San Diego to participate in the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament over the weekend.
 
GAME #5 — Pepperdine (0-4) vs CBU (3-1) Thursday, Feb. 20 | 6:00 p.m. | James W. Totman | Riverside, Calif.
 
GAME #6 — Pepperdine vs UCSD (1-3) Friday, Feb. 21 | 6:00 p.m. | Triton Ballpark | La Jolla, Calif.
 
GAME #7 — Pepperdine vs LBSU (1-3) Saturday, Feb. 22 | 1:00 p.m. | Triton Ballpark | La Jolla, Calif.
 
GAME #8 — Pepperdine vs SDSU (2-2) Sunday, Feb. 23 | 5:00 p.m. | Tony Gwynn Stadium | San Diego, Calif.
 
COVERAGE: All games will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Links to the broadcasts as well as live stats will be available at pepperdinewaves.com.
 
PROJECTED STARTERS: For the midweek matchup against the California Baptist Lancers, RHP Jordan Cole will be on the mound. The opening game in the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament for the Waves will have RHP Tommy Scavone on the bump. RHP Matthew Boyer is projected to start against the Dirtbags of Long Beach State and closing out the four game week will be starter RHP Dylan Syewart against San Diego State.
 
SERIES VS. THE LANCERS: Overall, Pepperdine holds the edge against Cal Baptist with a 7-6 record. Last year, the Waves were 0-2 against the Lancers last season. The last win in Riverside for the Waves came in 1970 with a 15-2 victory
 
SCOUTING THE LANCERS: In their first series of the season, CBU took the series against familiar WCC foe Portland 3-1. Outscoring the Pilots 32-20 in the four game series, junior Nicholas Dumesnil leads his squad with 6 RBIs. On the mound, Jacob Wilson made his 2025 debut with 4.0 IP and only three hits allowed, including no runs.
 
SERIES VS. THE TRITONS: Despite the close proximity, Pepperdine has only played UCSD twice, both games in 1972. As a part of the 24-17 season, the Waves defeated them 6-1 and 9-0.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS: Playing Pacific in their first weekend series of the season in Stockton, UCSD dropped the series 1-2. With an overall record of 1-3, the Tritons lost a 7-10 game against San Diego State in the first midweek of the season. With eight extra-base hits four games into the season paired with three homers, the Tritons prove to make solid contact in the batter's box.
 
SERIES VS. THE DIRTBAGS: By far the most familiar opponent of the weekend, Pepperdine is 59-69-2 all-time against Long Beach State. In a midweek matchup last season, the Waves dropped the contest 3-6. The last time Pepperdine played the Dirtbags on a neutral field was 2007.
 
SCOUTING THE DIRTBAGS: LBSU is currently 1-3, losing their opening series to Northwestern 1-2 and dropping their midweek to LMU 4-7. Junior Armando Briseno leads the squad offensively with six hits, including two home runs and seven RBIs.
 
SERIES VS. THE AZTECS: Despite not playing them since 2006, SDSU is a familiar opponent for the Waves. All-time, Pepperdine narrowly loses the edge against the Mountain West foe with a 25-28 record. The Waves came out on top the last time the two squads met nearly two decades ago with a final score of 11-7.
 
SCOUTING THE AZTECS: With a small sample size, SDSU is an even 2-2 on the year with losses against Grand Canyon and #24 Nebraska, two opponents Pepperdine will see later this season. The two wins are over Seton Hall and UCSD. Shutout in one game, the Aztecs have been outscored 31-37 on the season.
 
LAST SEASON: The Waves finished their season in Las Vegas last season, returning to the WCC tournament for the first time since 2018 in a first-round exit to Saint Mary's. Overall, Pepperdine was 15-38, including a 9-15 conference record.
 
WCC PRESEASON: Identical to last season, Pepperdine is predicted to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference this year. The whole list is as follows:
1. San Diego 2. Portland T-3. Gonzaga T-3. Saint Mary's 5. Santa Clara 6. LMU 7. Pepperdine 8. San Francisco; 9. Pacific.
 
THE SQUAD: The Waves return 22 players from last year's roster, including six starters and two of the three weekend starting pitchers in RHP Tommy Scavone and RHP Matthew Boyer.
Projected Friday starter sophomore RHP Tommy Scavone has appeared in 11 games, recording 45 strikeouts. Only appearing in two games in 2023, Scavone is expected to be a season-long starter after dealing with injuries over the past two seasons.
Graduate and projected Saturday starter RHP Matthew Boyer started 12 games last season. Through 61.2 innings, Boyer struck out 46 batters with an overall record of 3-7 with one save.
Senior Justin Rubin is returning after leading the Waves offensively last season, boasting a .333 batting average with a .448 on base percentage. Graduate Nick Upstill returns to the squad as well after starting in left field for 44 games last season, batting .240 and posting the least amount of strikeouts amongst the team.
Amongst the 18 new faces is 6'5" RHP transfer from the University of Oregon Jackson Pace. The redshirt sophomore posted a 2-4 record with a 8.67 ERA before redshirting for the 2024 season.
 
WAVES IN THE DRAFT: In the 2019 MLB Draft, Easton Lucas was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 14th round with the 411th overall pick. He made his big league debut with the Oakland Athletics on 9/8/23 as a relieving pitcher against the Texas Rangers. In 2023, middle infielders Ryan Johnson and John Peck were both selected in the MLB Draft. Peck was the Waves' highest drafted player since 2016, having been selected in the seventh round by the Detroit Tigers. Johnson was drafted in the eighth round by the Houston Astros. This is the first time since 2010 that Pepperdine had two picks in the first eight rounds. Left handed pitcher Shane Telfer also signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on 7/17/23. Most recently, 2021 grad Billy Cook has premiered in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates, originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY:  Pepperdine won its only College World Series title in 1992 and also played in the 1979 CWS. The Waves made their 30th and most recent appearance in NCAA postseason play in 2015, advancing to the NCAA Fullerton Regional final. In 2014 Pepperdine made its first ever NCAA Super Regional after winning the San Luis Obispo Regional Tournament. The Waves eventually fell to TCU, two games to one in the best-of-three series.
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 20 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, five times (most recently in back-to-back years during the 2022-23 and 2021-22). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #76 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.