PORTLAND, Ore. - The Pepperdine baseball team got in front early, but a steep inning in the fourth by the Pilots would bury the Waves for the remainder of the game in the 9-4 loss Friday night at Joe Etzel Field. 
 
The Waves (8-25, 4-6) had a solid start with six hits in the first four innings, but just three hits in the latter five left the door open for the Pilots (14-19, 7-2) and the 14 hits placed perfectly to outscore Pepperdine 9-4.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Graduate outfielder Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.) got the Waves on the board first with a solo home run in the first inning for his ninth RBI of the season.
 
Junior catcher Max Aude (Woodland Hills, Calif.) was .500 at the plate with two hits and an RBI in the fourth inning.
 
Freshman infielder Danny Cook (Monument, Colo.) scored twice on the night, going 1-for-3 at the plate with an extra-base hit.
 
RECAP
 
With hits in 13 of the last 14 games, Upstill opened the scoring for Pepperdine in the top of the first inning with a solo home run over the right field wall. This is Upstill's second ball sent over the fence this season and with the game just beginning, the Waves were up 1-0. Portland hit a home run of their own in the latter half of the first to tie it 1-1 early.
 
Re-taking the lead, Cook came around to score thanks to a single by freshman infielder Zach Woodson (Long Beach, California) after a lead-off double. No response from the Pilots gave the Waves a 2-1 edge through the first two.
 
A five-hit, four-run inning by Portland in the bottom of the third catapulted them to a 5-2 lead after three. Looking for the third lead change in just four innings, the Waves refused to go down without a fight. Two hits, two walks, and a Pilot defensive mishap scored two for Pepperdine and even with one left on base, the Waves minimized the deficit, trailing 5-4 at the end of the fourth.
 
Struggling to keep the offense alive through nine innings, Pepperdine had three hits through the last five innings. With only two of those coming in the same inning, runners were not able to find the way around the bases as Portland scored four unanswered runs to take game one of the series 9-4.
 
NEXT
 
The Waves continue the series against Portland with game two of the three-game series scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m.. The games will be streamed on ESPN+ all weekend (subscription required) with live stats available at www.pepperdinewaves.com.