MALIBU, Calif.- Scoring a season-high 13 runs, the Pepperdine baseball team won the first series of conference play Saturday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
 
The Waves (8-22, 4-4) scored 13 on 16 hits, out-hitting the Broncos (12-15, 1-4) who had 13 hits, with six different players crossing home plate for Pepperdine.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Graduate outfielder Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.) now has an 11-game hit streak, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI.
 
Freshman infielder Zach Woodson (Long Beach, Calif.) went 2-for-3 on the afternoon, scoring both times he got on base.
 
Freshman outfielder Joey Damelio (San Mateo, Calif.) hit his second home run of the year, a two-run shot to extend the Waves lead in the sixth inning.
 
 
RECAP
 
Even though the first two innings were scoreless between the two squads, Pepperdine was making solid contact early with four hits. The Waves and Broncos traded runs in the third, with Santa Clara scoring in the top half of the inning on one hit. In the latter half of the third, Upstill hit a single to left for his 12th consecutive game with a base hit, eventually coming around to score thanks to a fly out from freshman Danny Cook (Monument, Colo.). At the end of three, it was tied 1-1.
 
No added runs by the Broncos in the fourth gave the Waves an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Five hits scored four runs with Woodson, Damelio, redshirt sophomore outfielder Joe Cardinale (Salinas, Calif.), and senior infielder Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) scoring. At the end of four, Pepperdine led 5-1.
 
Although the Broncos responded with two runs in the top of the fifth, the Waves retook the four-score lead with both Upstill and Damelio scoring on a single to right field by Cook. With four innings to go, Pepperdine held the 7-3 advantage.
 
Santa Clara gave the largest push of the afternoon in the sixth inning. Three runs scored on two hits, with the help of a handful of Pepperdine errors, put the Broncos in striking distance as the Waves led by just one. The visitors would only gain one net run by the end of the inning as Pepperdine put two back, thanks to one swing of the bat by Damelio. The freshman's second home run of the season went sailing over the left field wall, scoring himself and Woodson for a 9-6 lead after six.
 
While the Broncos scored one in the seventh, it was inconsequential as the Waves repeated the most productive inning of the game with four runs. Damelio, senior pinch runner Cam Conley (Lincoln University, Pa.), Nunez, and Upstill all scored to bury Santa Clara with a 13-7 lead.
 
Coming in to pitch for the eighth and ninth inning, sophomore Colin Valentine (Dallas, Texas) only let up one run to earn his first save this season as he secured the 13-8 win for the Waves.
 
NEXT
 
The series concludes with game three at Eddy D. Field Stadium tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available at www.pepperdinewaves.com.