TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
Junior Robert Dickmann tossed seven shutout innings and the No.-16 Pepperdine baseball team exploded for nine runs in the first to notch a 13-2 home victory over No.-22 Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday. The Waves (14-5) have won four of their last five games and eight of their last 10.
Pepperdine jumped out to a 5-0 lead before making their first out, forcing Cal State Fullerton (9-8) to replace starter Jason Dovel after he had faced just six batters.
“He [Dovel] was just throwing a lot of balls,” said Waves’ first baseman Bryce Mendonca. “We were seeing the ball well, so we were able to take those pitches, and when he finally did come in [the strike zone], we were able to hit the ball hard.”
Later in the inning, junior outfielder David Harris stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and rocketed a 1-2 pitch off the right field scoreboard for a grand slam, pushing Pepperdine’s lead 9-0.
Junior outfielder Eric Thames added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI groundout to second base. Two batters later, pinch hitter Matt Aidem knocked a single into right field to drive in two runs, and sophomore catcher Travis Tartamella followed with an RBI single of his own to give the Waves a 13-0 advantage.
Dickmann kept the Pepperdine lead intact throughout the game, allowing just five hits and striking out two in seven innings of work for the victory, improving his record to 2-2.
Head Coach Steve Rodriguez said he was pleased to see Dickmann bounce back from his Sunday start, when the pitcher surrendered five runs in just one-third of an inning.
“He works extremely hard on trying to get it right,” Rodriguez said of Dickmann. “There’s not a doubt in our eyes that he’s not the kind of person to give up when he has a bad day. He’s a great kid for us. He does a tremendous job.”
The Titans finally got on the board in the eighth inning, on infielder Christian Colon’s one-run single off freshman Tyler Hess. Their second run was scored two batters later, when infielder Jon Wilhite hit an RBI single to left field. Waves’ senior Doug Konoske struck out the side in the top of the ninth to finish the game.
Harris led the Pepperdine offensive attack with four RBI, while Thames and Aidem finished the game with two RBI apiece. Designated hitter Trent Diedrich and catcher Travis Tartamella also drove in two runs.
“We’re swinging the bats well,” Aidem said. “We’re doing the little things well. We’re getting our sac bunts down, we’re executing when we have to. The pitchers are throwing really well and it feels like we’re in every game.”
Mendonca said the team boasts a high level of confidence and competitiveness that has played a large factor in its success this season.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re losing in a game,” he said. “We always come out and we still compete because we aren’t really playing the other team, we’re playing against the game itself.”
Aidem agreed with Mendonca, saying, “It’s kind of an aggressive, never-die feeling that we have right now. We know we have the talent to win every single game.”
Despite a 14-5 start, Rodriguez said there is room for improvement in several areas of the team’s game.
“We just need to have better at-bats,” he said. “We need to have a plan. Pitching-wise, we need to eliminate the big innings … being more aggressive on the mound and a little more patient in the box and being able to execute when we have to is the key.”
Tonight, the Waves travel north to open a three-game series against Oregon State. On March 25, they return to Malibu to host No.-6 Long Beach State.
03-20-2008
