MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team scored 12 runs in Sunday's game celebrating senior day.
The Waves (11-36, 6-12) were narrowly outhit 14-13 in the series finale matchup against the Demons (31-18, 17-10), failing to score in the latter half of the game to fall 15-12 at Eddy D. FIeld Stadium.
BIG WAVES
Graduate outfielder
Luke Pemberton (Boulder, Colo.) hit the Waves' sole home run of the afternoon, going 2-for-5 at the plate with a tremendous defensive day in right field.
Senior infielder
Justin Rubin (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) led the team with three RBIs, with a stolen base and perfect day at shortstop/second base.
Senior catcher
Cole Sheehan (Phoenix, Ariz) got his first hits of the season, going 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored himself.
RECAP
Scoring multiple runs in the first four innings, Pepperdine got the offense started early. Four hits in the first, including a double by senior
Andrew Savage (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), resulted in four runs being scored as
Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.),
Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Pemberton, and freshman designated hitter
Esteban Sepulveda (Lancaster, Calif.) all scored to give the Waves a 4-0 lead early.
Northwestern State countered immediately, scoring four of their own in the top of the second. Tied at 4-4, Pepperdine took the lead back the very same inning thanks to three hits, an offensive string started by senior
Jacob Rebrook's (The Woodlands, Texas) double to left field to start the bottom of the second. At the end of two, 10 runs had been scored collectively as the Waves led 6-4.
The Demons had the most productive half-inning of the day in the top of the third, with six runs scored on five hits. Over doubling their score, the Demons led 10-6 halfway through three.
Scoring for the third consecutive inning, the Waves put up three more in the third. Two hits, including a double by Upstill, allowed Pepperdine to score three and lessen the deficit to just one run, trailing 10-9 a third the way through the game.
No response from the Demons in the fourth gave Pepperdine the opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Leading off with a home run over the left field wall, Pemberton tied the game up for the Waves.
Two more hits and a Demon error allowed Pepperdine to score two more from one swing of Rubin's bat, giving the home team the 12-10 advantage through four.
After four, the offense seemed to fizzle out as quickly as it had ignited to begin the game. Just one more hit for Pepperdine in the following five innings would not be enough to score again, as Northwestern State strung five runs together between the seventh and eighth inning to take the final game of the series 15-12.
NEXT
In the final midweek of the season, the Waves head north to San Luis Obispo to take on the Mustangs of Cal Poly on Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) and live stats will be available at
www.pepperdinewaves.com.
