FRESNO, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team was back in action Friday night to begin a four-game series with Fresno State, and defeated the Bulldogs in thrilling fashion, 2-1.
"What a gritty TEAM win!" said Head Coach
Tyler LaTorre after the game. "It started with
Tommy Scavone on the mound again having a great start and handing the ball to
Casey Euper who did a phenomenal job in relief. We did the little things so well today. We cut down a runner at third with a double cut to not allow a leadoff triple. We continued to put together team-first at bats before we could finally break through in the ninth."
Both teams were quiet in the first couple of innings before Fresno State began the scoring in the bottom of the third. Barclay Ovalle singled to center before advancing to second on an Owen Faust walk. Jett Ruby laid down a sacrifice bunt, and the Bulldogs were in business with runners on second and third with one out. Griffen Sotomayor ensued with a groundout that was sharply hit to Waves first baseman
Finley Buckner, who had to back peddle far enough that Ovalle scored and gave Fresno State a 1-0 advantage.
There was no true scoring threat by either team until the top of the seventh when Pepperdine went to the bench several times. The first occasion came at the beginning of the inning, when
Joshua Woodworth pinch-hit for
Aidan Camberg. Woodworth showed off a good eye and worked a full count before walking.
Joe Cardinale was hit by a pitch, but a pop out on a bunt attempt by
Kai Laxa and two flyouts put a halt to the brief rally.
Headed to the ninth inning, it was still a 1-0 lead for Fresno State.
James Dell'Amico began the frame for Pepperdine and sliced a base hit to right field, setting up
Max Aude. Dell'Amico was pinch-run for by
Nash Horton, forcing the Waves to go to a third catcher should the game reach the bottom of the ninth. That became closer to a reality when Aude doubled before Cardinale lifted a sac fly to deep right-center, knotting the game at one apiece.
Zach Woodson stepped to the dish in place of Laxa and showed off his clutch gene, cracking a base hit that gave Pepperdine a 2-1 lead. The Waves continued to threaten but couldn't cash in any insurance runs, and went to the bottom of the ninth three outs from victory.
"The ability to have depth to have pinch hitters, pinch runners and defenders come in ready to go is a testament to our recruiting efforts and our players being prepared at any moment," commented LaTorre. "
Max Aude coming in on defense and throwing out a runner at second trying to steal and then doubling in the ninth set the table.
Joe Cardinale had a fantastic team at bat to fly out to deep enough center field to score the run and move Aude to third. Finally,
Zach Woodson came off the bench with a clutch RBI single with the infield in."
Lucien Weschberg had an opportunity to record his first save of the year and was able to convert. He hit Michael Boyd to begin the inning, but came back to strikeout Sky Collins and Marcus Nolen swinging before slamming the door shut by getting Austin Young to flyout.
"To be able to call on
Lucien Wechsberg to come close makes our team incredibly confident," LaTorre continued. "We are continuing to build belief in each other. I am super proud of our resiliency to win a big Friday road game against a quality program in Fresno State, who was in the National Tournament last year."
Tommy Scavone made his second start of the season for Pepperdine and was nearly surgical, allowing just two hits and one run (earned) in five innings of work while striking out three. He tossed a modest 81 pitches (49 strikes, 60.5 percent).
Casey Euper was sensational out of the bullpen, providing three innings of relief. He also surrendered only two hits and struck out one Bulldog. In 16 combined innings of work so far this season between Euper and Scavone, the duo has combined for a 2.70 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, five walks, 12 strikeouts, and a blistering .144 opponent batting average.
The Waves will be back on the diamond Saturday night in game two of the four-game set against Fresno State. Fans can watch on the Mountain West Network, available online
at this link, or by downloading the Mountain West Network app on Roku, Apple TV, iOS, Google Play, and Amazon Fire TV.
GAME NOTES
- Despite a 1-3 start to the season, Pepperdine has outhit their opponents in three of the four contests.
- In seven at-bats to begin 2026, James Dell'Amico is hitting a walloping .714 with a 1.428 OPS.
- The Waves pitching staff shut down the top four in the Fresno State batting order, holding the quartet to 1-for-11.
- There were four total hit-by-pitches in the contest, two on each squad.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE BASEBALL
Pepperdine baseball has one of the richest traditions and success stories among mid-major baseball programs in the country. The Waves won the NCAA National Championship in 1992 and have made 28 NCAA Tournament appearances in total. Located in scenic Malibu, California, Eddy D. Field Stadium boasts one of the most remarkable views in college baseball and has seen 35 former Waves reach the MLB while seeing 41 All-American selections.
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