Saturday, April 4
Spokane, Wash.
1:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
10-21, 5-4
3
at
4
Gonzaga
15-14, 6-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperdine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Gonzaga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 12 | 0 |
Photo by: Greg Bintz
Baseball Comes Up Short in Rubber Match at Gonzaga
4/4/2026 5:04:00 PM | Baseball
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Pepperdine baseball team (10-21, 5-4 WCC) had taken game one but ultimately dropped its series against Gonzaga (15-14, 6-3 WCC) this weekend, falling 4-3 on Saturday afternoon in the rubber match.
Â
The Waves were led by Kai Laxa's 2-for-3 outing, and the second baseman also scored a run.
Â
"Hard-fought series that could have gone to either team," commented Head Coach Tyler LaTorre. "I am proud of the way we battled today. Gonzaga is a well-coached team with talented arms and a deep lineup. We went toe-to-toe with them all weekend and I hope we get another shot at them again later this season. For now, we will continue to focus on the little things that win baseball games. We are learning and growing with every opportunity to play together. Tommy Scavone did very well and gave us a chance to win, we just didn't do enough offensively. Tommy limited scoring threats and did a fine job. Jack Fowler and Dylan Stewart also did a great job out of the bullpen to give us a chance to tie or take the lead late."
Â
Pepperdine jumped on the board first, as Trey Dunn lifted a RBI double to the left-center-field wall, scoring Daniel Patterson. Gonzaga responded right away in the bottom half of the frame on a Ryder Young RBI single that plated Ricky Sanchez.
Â
As they did earlier in the game, Gonzaga responded with a solo shot from Noah Meffert, giving the Bulldogs the lead back. Two of Gonzaga's first three runs came with two outs. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 4-2 on a RBI double from Eisenstat that had Young touching home. Joshua Woodworth had a solo home run in the eighth for Pepperdine to pull the Waves within one at 4-3, but the blue and orange didn't do much offensively beyond that in the last five innings in the 4-3 loss.
Â
"We will celebrate Easter Sunday tomorrow and then get back to work on Monday before we head to CSUN and then host Pacific," continued LaTorre. "I'm thrilled with the progress that this team has made with the competitiveness and togetherness that they've shown so far this year."
GAME NOTES
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.
Â
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
Â
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine baseball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineBASE.
Â
The Waves were led by Kai Laxa's 2-for-3 outing, and the second baseman also scored a run.
Â
"Hard-fought series that could have gone to either team," commented Head Coach Tyler LaTorre. "I am proud of the way we battled today. Gonzaga is a well-coached team with talented arms and a deep lineup. We went toe-to-toe with them all weekend and I hope we get another shot at them again later this season. For now, we will continue to focus on the little things that win baseball games. We are learning and growing with every opportunity to play together. Tommy Scavone did very well and gave us a chance to win, we just didn't do enough offensively. Tommy limited scoring threats and did a fine job. Jack Fowler and Dylan Stewart also did a great job out of the bullpen to give us a chance to tie or take the lead late."
Â
Pepperdine jumped on the board first, as Trey Dunn lifted a RBI double to the left-center-field wall, scoring Daniel Patterson. Gonzaga responded right away in the bottom half of the frame on a Ryder Young RBI single that plated Ricky Sanchez.
The Bulldogs would take the lead in the second inning on a Bo Shinkle sac fly, scoring Tommy Eisenstat. The blue and orange answered a couple of innings later in the fourth as the Waves created some traffic and ultimately tied the game at two on a sacrifice fly from Joe Cardinale.Fasten those seatbelts, it's back to a one-run game! @15jwood crushed his fifth dinger of the year! 💪
— Pepperdine Baseball (@PepperdineBASE) April 4, 2026
📺 ESPN+ | https://t.co/l33tKSftkA
📊 https://t.co/QWSR2A9Rtv#MakeWaves | @PepperdineWaves pic.twitter.com/T26oZCfmPz
Â
As they did earlier in the game, Gonzaga responded with a solo shot from Noah Meffert, giving the Bulldogs the lead back. Two of Gonzaga's first three runs came with two outs. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 4-2 on a RBI double from Eisenstat that had Young touching home. Joshua Woodworth had a solo home run in the eighth for Pepperdine to pull the Waves within one at 4-3, but the blue and orange didn't do much offensively beyond that in the last five innings in the 4-3 loss.
Â
"We will celebrate Easter Sunday tomorrow and then get back to work on Monday before we head to CSUN and then host Pacific," continued LaTorre. "I'm thrilled with the progress that this team has made with the competitiveness and togetherness that they've shown so far this year."
GAME NOTES
- Dylan Stewart (2.0) and Jack Fowler (0.2) combined for 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in relief of starter Tommy Scavone.
- The loss marked Pepperdine's fifth this season by one run.
- Woodworth added two walks in addition to his solo home run.
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.
Â
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
Â
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine baseball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineBASE.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sweum, Karsten (3-1)
L: Scavone, Tommy (2-3)
S: Hoffberg, Erik (1)
Batting:
2B: Laxa, Kai 1 ; Dunn, Trey 1 ; Patterson, Daniel 1
HR: Woodworth, Joshua 1
RBI: Cardinale, Joe 1 ; Dunn, Trey 1 ; Woodworth, Joshua 1
SF: Cardinale, Joe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Laxa, Kai 1 ; Patterson, Daniel 1 ; Woodworth, Joshua 1
Batting:
2B: Young, Ryder 1 ; Meffert, Noah 1 ; Haley, Maddox 1 ; Eisenstat, Tommy 2 ; Sanchez, Ricky 1
HR: Meffert, Noah 1
RBI: Young, Ryder 1 ; Shinkle, Bo 1 ; Meffert, Noah 1 ; Eisenstat, Tommy 1
SF: Shinkle, Bo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Young, Ryder 1 ; Meffert, Noah 1 ; Eisenstat, Tommy 1 ; Sanchez, Ricky 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
