Noah Godwin
Assistant Sports Editor
Pepperdine junior second baseman David Uribes
gets a hit against Portland this past weekend.
Keith Novosel / Staff Photographer
In the six years since the West Coast Conference implemented divisional play, Pepperdine has won all six West Division crowns and appeared in every Championship Series.
The Waves’ history of outstanding play has not changed this season, but University of San Francisco baseball has also emerged as a force heading into this weekend’s showdown for first place in the West Division between the two teams.
The series-opener is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday with the remaining games slated for 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Waves also have a game scheduled for Tuesday at University of Southern California, but several players said that all of their focus is on San Francisco.
Pepperdine has won a season-high six games in a row and 11 of the past 12, but the Dons have been on a similar tear, winning their last 10 games.
“It’s always exciting when two teams undefeated in conference play meet, but this weekend has all the makings of being something special because, as well as we’ve played, they’ve probably been the hottest team in the WCC over the past few weeks,” Head Coach Steve Rodriguez said.
Keith Novosel / Staff Photographer
Senior Kea Kometani and junior Paul Coleman have dominated on the mound with a 6-0 record, 1.47 ERA and 59 strikeouts in their last seven starts combined.
Even with those efforts, the pitching edge still favors the Dons.
Pepperdine’s 3.78 team ERA is second in the WCC to San Francisco’s 2.19, and the Dons also have a pair of aces at the top of their rotation.
Senior Nick Pereira is 6-1 with an ERA of .89, and sophomore Scott Cousins has nearly matched him with a 6-1 record and 2.21 ERA
Both teams also boast lineups that have provided plenty of offense this season.
Pepperdine leads the league in hitting and is the only team above .300 at .306, but San Francisco is not far behind with a batting average of .288.
The Waves have several sluggers who have consistently produced for the Waves this season, including senior Patrick Rooney, who was named the WCC “Player of the Week” after going six-for-nine with four runs, two homeruns, five RBI and a 1.333 slugging percentage this past weekend.
But the player coach Rodriguez credits most for the Waves offensive success in WCC play has been freshman center fielder Adrian Ortiz.
Only 18 years old and one year removed from turning down a lucrative contract when the Chicago Cubs made him a fifth-round pick in last year’s Major League Baseball Draft, the speedy leadoff man has feasted on WCC pitching.
He has eight hits and seven runs scored in only 16 at-bats to lead the team with a .500 batting average in conference play.
“He puts so much pressure on the defense with his speed, and the thing that doesn’t show up is how much he helps us by covering so much ground in center field,” Rodriguez said.
Both teams are undefeated in conference play following the Waves’ sweep of Portland University and San Francisco’s sweep of Santa Clara University this past weekend.
Rooney hit a three-run homer to tie the game against the Pilots in the seventh innings of the series opener against Portland at 3-3, and he started the winning rally in the bottom of the ninth with a walk before scoring the winning run.
Freshman Donald Brown provided the spark on Friday with a two-run pinch-hit single to break a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning.
Kometani got some major defensive help in the top of the sixth inning when freshmen outfielder Jason Dominguez and Ortiz both threw out runners at the plate. Kometani went on to pitch a complete game to secure the 5-2 win.
“It’s so much fun to watch these freshmen play because they’re absolutely fearless, and with the kind of talent they have, that bodes extremely well for our program,” senior Steve Kleen said.
Kleen tied the game at one apiece with an RBI single in the third inning before the Waves’ offense exploded for 18 hits in the 10-1 victory.
Pepperdine’s season-high for hits came Feb. 20 when the Waves tallied 21 hits and scored 18 runs.
Pepperdine is 17-8 with 28 regular season games remaining. The Waves have won at least 30 games in the past 27 seasons.
03-31-2005
