MALIBU, Calif. - For the second time in the last week, the Pepperdine baseball team won on a walk-off at Eddy D. Field Stadium, this time against Michigan on a game-ending home run. The Waves improved to 3-10, while the Wolverines dropped to 7-6.
"I'm really proud of the resiliency our group showed today," said Head Coach
Tyler LaTorre after the game. "Coming out today after yesterday's outcome, going down 2-0 early today, coming back, losing the lead, tying the game, and eventually winning the game is a testament to our players' belief in each other."
Despite it being early March, it was like a home run derby in the contest, starting with Michigan's Eli Kligman sending a deep shot to left in the second inning before Matthew Ossenfort blasted one that banged off the parking lot wall in deep right.
The Wolverines led 2-0 heading into the third inning before
Danny Cook sent his own home run over the "400" sign in center field.
Kai Laxa ensued with a single before
Julian Nunez worked a walk.
Daniel Patterson stepped up to the dish after a Michigan mound visit, but he roped a triple into the right-center field gap, and Nunez was able to follow Laxa and score all the way from first, giving Pepperdine a 3-2 lead.
Finley Buckner didn't want the inning to end, working a 2-2 count before crushing a fastball over the left field wall, putting Pepperdine ahead by a field goal 5-2. All five runs were scored with two outs.
The Wolverines wasted no time with a response in the fourth, getting traffic on the basepaths before Ossenfort drove in Kligman on a RBI single. Drew Culbertson followed that with a two RBI triple down the right-field line, and the contest was knotted at five apiece. Michigan kept plugging away, regaining the lead on a Brayden Jefferis RBI single that plated Culbertson. A wild pitch by Waves starting pitcher
Tommy Scavone extended the Wolverines' lead to 7-5, before it ballooned to 8-5 on a Cade Ladehoff single. By the end of the fourth, 13 combined runs had been scored.
Michigan held that 8-5 advantage through the 7th inning stretch, but things took a wild turn in the bottom half of the frame as Pepperdine rallied.
Trey Dunn walked to begin the inning and eventually reached second after Cook singled. The Blue and Maize went to the bullpen, bringing in Max Debiec to relieve Shane Brinham. The move didn't pay off, as Debiec beaned Laxa on the foot, loading the bases for the Waves. Nunez took advantage of the situation by sending a high fly ball to deep left-center field, where a miscommunication took place amongst the left and center fielder. Although the center fielder usually has priority, left fielder Dane Morrow was camping underneath the ball but center fielder Greg Pace, Jr. ran through the fly ball, and two runs scored to pull Pepperdine back within one at 8-7. Another pitching change for Michigan resulted in
Daniel Patterson flying out, but the blue and orange struck again with two outs. Buckner stepped up and scalded a RBI single to left and tied the game at eight.
"I loved our competition in the batters box and on the mound," stated LaTorre. "
Danny Cook, what a day! But up and down the lineup we had contributions and
Finley Buckner had two huge hits."
Lucien Wechsberg had kept the Wolverines scoreless in the top of the eighth and did the same in the ninth, getting Jefferis to ground out with two on. Two pitches into the bottom of the ninth, Cook took a 1-0 fastball from Tyler Finkbeiner and sent a sky-scraping no-doubter over the left field wall to end the game, as Pepperdine won in thrilling walk-off fashion, 9-8.
"
Casey Euper, once again, was stellar out of the bullpen and
Lucien Wechsberg kept the game tied so we could walk it off in the ninth," continued LaTorre. "Once again, we have another Game 3 with an opportunity to win a series. Hoping to continue to build off of today's successes and protect Eddy D. Field Stadium."
Pepperdine is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch tomorrow against Michigan in the rubber match. Fans can
purchase tickets here or watch on
ESPN+.
GAME NOTES
- Three Waves had a multi-hit game: Nunez (two hits), Buckner (two hits), and Cook (three hits).
- Cook's two home runs mark both the first multi-homer game of his young career, and a new season-high.
- Michigan stranded eight on base, while the Waves left just three.
- Scavone was roughed up on the mound, surrendering eight runs - all earned - in just 3.1 innings of work. He threw 84 pitches.
- Casey Euper was dominant out of the bullpen in relief of Scavone, recording 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up just two hits. He walked a pair and sat down three.
- Wechsberg earned the win, his second of the season.
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.
TICKETS
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