SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team led the majority of the game Tuesday night at Baggett Stadium, eventually falling to Cal Poly.
 
The Waves (11-37, 6-12) grabbed the lead over the Mustangs (32-15, 18-6) early, holding on until a seven-spot given up by the defense in the eighth inning resulted in a 12-5 loss for the final midweek of the season. 
 
 
BIG WAVES
 
Senior infielder Julian Nunez (Encinitas, Calif.) tied his career-high RBIs, knocking in four in the first and third inning, going 2-for-3 at the plate.
 
Graduate outfielder Nick Upstill (Huntington Beach, Calif.) continued his red-hot streak on offense, securing three hits on four plate appearances, scoring twice.
 
 
RECAP
 
The Waves took the lead in the first inning and did not let up the majority of the game. A two-run RBI by Nunez in the first scored redshirt sophomore outfielder Joe Cardinale (Salinas, Calif.) and Upstill, who reached on singles earlier in the inning. Cal Poly responded with just one in the bottom half of the inning and through one, Pepperdine held a 2-1 lead.
 
Adding two more with no response from the Mustangs, the Waves extended the lead to three in the top of the third when it would once again be Nunez to drive in two, this time sending Upstill and senior infielder Justin Rubin (Bryn, Mawr, Pa.) home on a single. The four RBIs for Nunez ties a career record, most recently repeating the performance against Saint Mary's April 19. At the end of three, the visitors were sitting at a 4-1 advantage.
 
Although the Mustangs tacked one on in the bottom of the fourth, Pepperdine responded immediately and smart base running by senior utility player Andrew Savage (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) allowed him to score on a wild pitch, making it a 5-2 ballgame in the middle of the sixth inning.
 
The home team started to string some hits together and with a single and double in the latter half of the sixth inning, Cal Poly tied the game at 5-5 with three innings to go.
 
Offense went silent for the Waves and another run would not score for Pepperdine. The Mustangs put up a crooked seven runs on three hits in the eighth inning, taking the first lead of the night and holding on the remainder of the game as Cal Poly secured the series sweep this season, defeating Pepperdine 12-5.
 
NEXT
 
The Waves head to Stockton in the final road series of the year, facing the Pacific Tigers this weekend. Game one Friday night is slated to begin at 6 p.m. The games will be streamed all weekend long on ESPN+ (subscription required) and live stats will be available at www.pepperdinewaves.com.