JANE LEE
Sports Editor
For as long as junior Barry Enright can remember, struggles have always defined the start of the Pepperdine baseball team’s season. So even though it was disappointing, it was of no big surprise when the Waves began the 2007 campaign with a 1-2-1 record at the beginning of the month.
Fast forward to this past weekend’s series against UC Davis, however, and it looks as if that slow start has already been put to rest.
It’s safe to say the Waves put away their woes as they swept the Aggies in the three-game weekend series and followed that performance with a big win over USC at Eddy D. Field Stadium on Tuesday.
“As more games are played, the team grows,” Enright said. “I know that ever since I’ve been here we’ve always had a slow beginning for some reason, but we’ve got a bunch of new guys who are already getting a lot of experience and have been a big help to the team.”
Enright (2-0) guided the Waves to their first win of the weekend with his second impressive start of the season, lasting 7.1 strong innings, en route to a 6-2 victory.
The win improved the All-American’s career record to 25-3 and moved him into a tie with two former Waves for ninth place on Pepperdine’s all-time wins list.
“I’ve always said that my success comes from all the great mentors I’ve had coming up,” Enright said. “Just watching their routines over the years has helped me so much.”
Sophomore designated hitter Eric Thames continued his torrid hitting as he backed up Enright and led the offense with three hits, which was part of a 14-hit attack by the Waves.
Also tallying multiple hits were junior shortstop Danny Worth, sophomore third baseman Chase d’Arnaud and freshman catcher Travis Tartamella, who all collected two hits.
Junior right hander Jason Dominguez, who was recently moved into the closer role, worked the final 1.2 innings to record his first save of the season.
Worth came back the next day to collect another pair of hits, going 2-for-2 while scoring a pair of runs as Pepperdine received some solid pitching to defeat the Aggies 5-4 on Saturday.
Sophomore Robert Dickmann started for the Waves, giving up eight hits and three runs in just 4.1 innings of work. The bullpen took care of the Aggies’ lineup the rest of the way, with freshmen Daniel Farris, Jordan Durrance and sophomore Nick Gaudi and Dominguez combining to pitch 4.2 innings of relief, allowing one hit and an unearned run.
Farris came on in relief of Dickmann and worked 1.2 innings to record his first career victory while Dominguez registered his second save of the season in as many days.
Sophomore bullpen phenom Brett Hunter, who played a pivotal role for the Waves as closer last season, did not see any action until Sunday, when he made his first start of the season and did not disappoint.
Hunter pitched six solid innings while freshman designated hitter Mark Tracy highlighted a 14-hit attack with a pair of hits, including his first career home run, to lead the Waves to an 11-3 win over UC Davis in the final game of the series.
“Hunter was phenomenal in the starter role,” Enright said. “He proved he can be both a closer and a starter, so he’s very valuable to our team.”
Eight of the nine starters in the Waves’ lineup had at least one hit, including junior center fielder Adrian Ortiz, junior right fielder Don Brown and d’Arnaud, all of whom had two hits.
The hitting continued two days later, as Worth and freshman first baseman Ryan Heroy collected three hits apiece to lead a 16-hit attack to guide Pepperdine to an 8-3 victory over No.-21 USC.
For the second straight game, eight of the nine starters in the Waves’ lineup had at least one hit.
Senior starter Robert Della Grotta pitched 2.1 innings, giving up three hits and two runs. Olbrychowski came on in the third inning with Pepperdine trailing 2-1 and limited the Trojans to three hits, a run and two walks.
“We had been pretty down after the UNLV series, so these wins were great for us,” Enright said. “The good teams know not to panic, and we know we’re a talented team.”
Enright and the Waves will look to continue its four-game winning streak on Friday when it opens a three-game series against No.-10 Wichita State at Eddy D. Field Stadium beginning at 2 p.m.
02-15-2007
