TUCSON, Ariz. - The Pepperdine baseball team grabbed the lead early, but could not hold on in the series finale against Arizona, losing 3-5.
 
Pepperdine (3-14) outhit Arizona (11-4) 10-7, but timely offense in the seventh inning by the Wildcats would give the home team the lead as they held on to beat the Waves Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Senior outfielder Luke Pemberton (Monument, Colo.) got Pepperdine on the board first with a double in the first inning, batting .500 on the day.
 
Junior RHP Dylan Stewart (Alameda, Calif.) through 5.0 innings allowed just three hits and no runs while striking out five.
 
Senior catcher Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) extended the Waves' lead in the top of the sixth with a two-RBI double while having a quality defensive outing behind the plate.
 
RECAP
 
Jumping out in front early, the Waves took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. A single by senior shortstop Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) put a baserunner on for Pemberton, who lined a triple into right field, scoring his teammate to give the Waves a first-inning lead.
 
With no response from the Wildcats thanks to Stewart on the mound, it was still a 1-0 ball game in favor of the visitors heading into the sixth inning. Pepperdine took advantage of Arizona's starting pitcher still on the mound, getting a single and a walk to put two on base. Stepping up to the plate, Savage had his first extra-base hit of the season, driving two in on a double down the left field line. At the break in the sixth, Pepperdine led 3-0.
 
Arizona started to get their offense going in the bottom half of the inning, getting two hits to score one. Leaving two on base, the Wildcats trailed the Waves 1-3 with three innings to go.
 
Just one hit in the top of the seventh would not amount to any runs scored for the Waves, but the bottom half of the inning would see a plethora of offense from Arizona. Four runs scored on two hits, including a three-run scoring triple, gave the Wildcats the 3-5 lead at the end of the seventh.
 
Pepperdine did not have enough time to respond with six outs to work with before the end of the game. Despite two hits in the top of the ninth, the Waves could not produce any more runs as they fell in the series finale to the Wildcats 3-5.
 
NEXT
 
The Waves are back in California this week with a Tuesday night matchup against Long Beach State on deck. With a first pitch time of 6 p.m., the game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) and live stats can be found at  www.pepperdinewaves.com.