TUCSON, Ariz. - The Pepperdine baseball team kept pace with Arizona all night, but a late eighth inning push by the Wildcats to score two pinned the Waves in a 1-3 loss.
 
The Waves (3-12) matched hits with the Wildcats (9-4) as both teams recorded seven, but defense would bail Arizona out of the top of the ninth to escape with the Friday night win.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Freshman catcher Esteban Sepulveda (Lancaster, Calif.) went 3-for-4 on the night in the four spot as the designated hitter. 
 
Redshirt junior RHP Tommy Scavone (Pleasanton, Calif.) through 6.0 inning pitched dished out seven strikeouts, only allowing one run.
 
Freshman outfielder Brodey Bitove (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) had the Waves' sole extra base hit on the night, leading off the ninth with a double.
 
RECAP
 
As Pepperdine and Arizona pitched the regular Friday night starter for the team, the struggle on offense for both dugouts was expected. The first five innings were scoreless on both sides of the ball as the Waves were led by Scavone, allowing just two hits with no runs through the first five.
 
The Waves got on the board first, scoring one in the top of the sixth. Redshirt sophomore Joe Cardinale (Salinas, Calif.) got on base via a walk and a single by senior infielder Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) would score Cardinale after the redshirt sophomore capitalized on a defensive throwing error to score. Arizona returned the favor in the bottom half of the sixth hitting a double and single before scoring on a sacrificial fly to tie the game 1-1 by the end of the inning.
 
Neither team could break through in the seventh to give their squad the lead and after the Waves stranded one in the top of the eighth, the Wildcats broke the deadlock. Three hits and a walk scored two for Arizona and with three outs left to find a pair of runs, Pepperdine was running out of time, trailing 3-1.
 
Starting the top of the ninth off with the first extra-base hit of the night, Bitove doubled down the left field line to put a runner in scoring position with nobody out. Next up, senior infielder Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) threaded a ball down the third base side, but excellent defense by the third baseman put him in position to make the out. Sepulveda's third hit of the night followed Rubin to put runners at the corners. Deflating the Waves, Arizona turned two the next play to end the game.
 
Pepperdine lost game two of the four-game series 3-1.
 
NEXT
 
The Waves continue the series against Arizona in Tucson at 5 p.m. tomorrow. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Live stats can be found at  www.pepperdinewaves.com.