Saturday, May 16
Santa Clara, Calif.
1:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
21-32, 15-12
2
at
3
Santa Clara
25-28, 13-14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperdine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Santa Clara | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 3 | 5 | 1 |
Photo by: Greg Bintz
Baseball Earns No. 4 Seed in WCC Tournament
5/16/2026 6:25:00 PM | Baseball
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team (21-32, 15-12 WCC) fell to the Santa Clara Broncos (22-28, 13-14 WCC) by a final of 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.
In whirlwind action around the league, Pacific fell to Portland and San Francisco couldn't come back against Saint Mary's, setting up the Waves to face Saint Mary's in the first round of the WCC tournament on Wednesday night. Pepperdine earned the number four seed, while the Gaels are the number five seed.
"Although this weekend was not the outcome we were striving for, our fight in the last two innings offensively and our pitching today was more Wave-like than Thursday and Friday," said Head Coach Tyler LaTorre. "Valentine, Stewart, and Wechsberg did a great job of giving us a chance to win today. We fought hard, but all weekend we just didn't hit well enough situationally, nor did we work together as a lineup. We can now shift our mindset to postseason play. This is what we've worked for all season. The opportunity to head to Scottsdale and play for a WCC title is something this team has strived for and with the conference resume we've put together over the past two months, I'm so happy that our guys get to go compete next week."
It was a relatively quiet first seven innings for the Waves against Santa Clara on Sunday. Pepperdine had only a handful of baserunners and was unable to get anyone in scoring position. On the other hand, Santa Clara took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on a Bryant Viskovich RBI groundout. The Broncos extended the score to 2-0 in the fourth on a Luke Devine solo shot to right before Ben Cleary added a solo home run in the seventh.
Things looked grim for the Waves until Daniel Patterson banged a two-run homer in the eighth off the batting cage in deep left field, pulling Pepperdine within one at 3-2. Julian Nunez ensued two pitches later by cranking a double to left and advancing to third on an errant throw from Broncos left fielder Payton Lambert, and the Waves suddenly were 90 feet away from a tie game. Joshua Woodworth ended up stranding Nunez at third by striking out looking at a pitch that was well outside and essentially in the other batter's box.
The Broncos ran the table and won eight straight to end the regular season, sneaking into the conference tournament as the six seed. Pepperdine still finished in the top four in the WCC for the first time since 2018 that also saw the most conference wins since 2018.
"This team is a special group of young men on and off the field," added LaTorre. "For them to earn the chance to be together for at least one more week is what college baseball is all about. They've stuck together through so much adversity this season. They deserve all the success they are seeing on the field."
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.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine baseball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineBASE.
In whirlwind action around the league, Pacific fell to Portland and San Francisco couldn't come back against Saint Mary's, setting up the Waves to face Saint Mary's in the first round of the WCC tournament on Wednesday night. Pepperdine earned the number four seed, while the Gaels are the number five seed.
"Although this weekend was not the outcome we were striving for, our fight in the last two innings offensively and our pitching today was more Wave-like than Thursday and Friday," said Head Coach Tyler LaTorre. "Valentine, Stewart, and Wechsberg did a great job of giving us a chance to win today. We fought hard, but all weekend we just didn't hit well enough situationally, nor did we work together as a lineup. We can now shift our mindset to postseason play. This is what we've worked for all season. The opportunity to head to Scottsdale and play for a WCC title is something this team has strived for and with the conference resume we've put together over the past two months, I'm so happy that our guys get to go compete next week."
It was a relatively quiet first seven innings for the Waves against Santa Clara on Sunday. Pepperdine had only a handful of baserunners and was unable to get anyone in scoring position. On the other hand, Santa Clara took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on a Bryant Viskovich RBI groundout. The Broncos extended the score to 2-0 in the fourth on a Luke Devine solo shot to right before Ben Cleary added a solo home run in the seventh.
Things looked grim for the Waves until Daniel Patterson banged a two-run homer in the eighth off the batting cage in deep left field, pulling Pepperdine within one at 3-2. Julian Nunez ensued two pitches later by cranking a double to left and advancing to third on an errant throw from Broncos left fielder Payton Lambert, and the Waves suddenly were 90 feet away from a tie game. Joshua Woodworth ended up stranding Nunez at third by striking out looking at a pitch that was well outside and essentially in the other batter's box.
A clean bottom of the eighth from Lucien Wechsberg gave Pepperdine another shot in the ninth, and Trey Dunn led off by pulling a double just inside the foul pole that caromed off the wall. Following that, the Waves went down one-two-three, and Santa Clara defeated Pepperdine 3-2.DP GOES DEEP!!! His first homer since April 12th gets us on the board and within 1⃣!! @Daniel_P_27
— Pepperdine Baseball (@PepperdineBASE) May 16, 2026
📺 ESPN+ | https://t.co/TQ3K5GThDp
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🔗 https://t.co/ekGPirnAfK#MakeWaves | @PepperdineWaves pic.twitter.com/4xQZpdgDAT
The Broncos ran the table and won eight straight to end the regular season, sneaking into the conference tournament as the six seed. Pepperdine still finished in the top four in the WCC for the first time since 2018 that also saw the most conference wins since 2018.
"This team is a special group of young men on and off the field," added LaTorre. "For them to earn the chance to be together for at least one more week is what college baseball is all about. They've stuck together through so much adversity this season. They deserve all the success they are seeing on the field."
GAME NOTES
- All five Pepperdine hits came from five different Waves.
- Santa Clara left seven on base to Pepperdine's five.
- Dylan Stewart and Wechsberg combined to give up one run in four innings out of the bullpen.
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.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine baseball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineBASE.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ALLEMAN, Tyler (2-1)
L: Valentine, Collin (3-6)
S: LANZ, Cooper (3)
Batting:
2B: Nunez, Julian 1 ; Dunn, Trey 1
HR: Patterson, Daniel 1
RBI: Patterson, Daniel 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Patterson, Daniel 1 ; Bianchina, AJ 1
Batting:
2B: DEVINE, Luke 1
HR: CLEARY, Ben 1 ; DEVINE, Luke 1
RBI: CLEARY, Ben 1 ; DEVINE, Luke 1 ; VISKOVICH, Bryant 1
SH: LAMBERT, Payton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CLEARY, Ben 1 ; DEVINE, Luke 2
SB: LAMBERT, Payton 1
HBP: CLEARY, Ben 1 ; ANDERSON, Will 1 ; LAMBERT, Payton 1 ; GARCIA, Mateo 1
Game Leaders
3b/rf
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
rf/cf
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/RHP
/ Baseball
