SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- The Pepperdine baseball team let in five runs in the fifth inning, leading to the 9-4 loss Tuesday afternoon against UCSB.
 
The Waves (8-24, 4-5) held the lead over the Gauchos (21-10, 7-8) for the first half of the game, but the latter half favored UCSB as Pepperdine was outscored 6-0 to lose 9-4 Tuesday night at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Joe Cardinale (Clovis, Calif.) had an inside-the-park home run in the third inning, giving the Waves the most productive inning on offense.
 
Freshman infielder Danny Cook (Monument, Colo.) gave Pepperdine a 1-0 lead in the first, scoring one off a single.
 
Freshman Zach Woodson (Long Beach, Calif.) had the only extra base hit in the game with a double.
 
RECAP
 
Pepperdine was aggressive out of the gate this afternoon and with two on base after a single by senior infielder Justin Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) and two walks delivered to graduate DH Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and senior infielder Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Cook knocked a single into left field to score Nunez and give the Waves an early 1-0 lead.
 
While the Gauchos responded with a solo home run in the second inning, Pepperdine took the lead back as quickly as they lost it with two runs scored in the third. After freshman outfielder Joey Damelio (San Mateo, Calif.) reached first, Cardinale knocked a ball into center field that ended in an inside-the-park home run. The single turned into all four bases after the ball slipped through the center fielder's legs and rolled all the way to the warning track. Santa Barbara matched Pepperdine's two runs in the latter half of the inning and after three, the game was tied 3-3.
 
Junior catcher Max Aude (Woodland Hills, Calif.) got his seventh RBI of the season in the fourth, driving in Woodson to give the Waves the lead for the third time on the night with a 4-3 lead.
After the fourth, Pepperdine's offense came to an abrupt halt with just one more hit on the night, coming in the ninth inning. The Gauchos, however, kicked their offense into high gear in the fifth inning with five hits, including four doubles to take an 8-4 lead.
 
Tacking one more on in the ninth, UCSB put the final nail in the coffin with their ninth run of the afternoon to take a 9-4 victory in the midweek matchup.
 
NEXT
 
The Waves continue conference play this weekend, traveling to Portland to face the Pilots. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and the games will be streamed on ESPN+ all weekend (subscription required) with live stats available at www.pepperdinewaves.com.