JANE LEE
Sports Editor
Pitcher Barry Enright can do no wrong these days. In fact, the same can be said of the entire Pepperdine baseball team.
The No.-12 Waves followed their 2-1 series victory over Wichita State by sweeping Fresno State past weekend and easily grabbing a victory over UC Irvine on Tuesday at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
It is always hard to imagine a better performance than Enright’s start each week, but the junior topped his previous three performances Friday afternoon as he pitched a complete-game three-hit shutout in defeating Fresno State 4-0.
The right-hander allowed three singles, did not walk a batter for a second consecutive start and struck out three en route to improving to 4-0 on the year and lowering his ERA to 0.59.
With the complete game, Enright extended his consecutive scoreless streak to 22.2 innings dating back to the third inning of the UC Davis game Feb. 9. As if that’s not enough, he also bumped his career mark to 27-3, tying him for fifth place on Pepperdine’s all-time wins list.
After allowing a single in the first inning, Enright retired 10 consecutive batters before surrendering back-to-back singles to begin the fifth inning. That’s all the Bulldogs would get off the ace, as he then set down the final 14 batters to finish the masterpiece.
Pepperdine’s nine-hit attack was more than enough offensive help for Enright. Sophomore Chase d’Arnaud led the Waves with three hits and three RBI, while junior Adrian Ortiz had a pair of hits.
“We’re getting good production from just about everybody,” Head Coach Steve Rodriguez said. “There are obviously always things we need to work on, but recently we’ve had good execution.”
Execution was just what guided the Waves to victory the following day, as freshman catcher Trent Diedrich hit a one-out bases loaded single in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive home d’Arnaud with the winning run and lift Pepperdine to a 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Brett Hunter started for Pepperdine, pitching seven strong innings and allowing two runs on two hits while walking four and equaling a career-high eight strikeouts.
Junior Jason Dominguez pitched 1.2 innings of relief, allowing a single and walk to grab the win and even his record to 1-1.
Other game highlights came when junior shortstop Danny Worth hit a run-scoring double in the sixth, the 46th of his career to move him into a tie for 10th place on Pepperdine’s all-time doubles list.
Ortiz led the Waves’ 11-hit attack with three singles, while Worth collected a pair of hits.
Hitting attacks have been Pepperdine’s specialty this season, and the last game of the Fresno State series proved to be no different.
Senior left fielder Luke Salas, who had been struggling at the plate, equaled his career-highs with four hits and four RBI as the Waves pulled out a 10-4 win to complete the three-game sweep.
Sophomore lefty Robert Dickmann earned his first career victory, while more offense came from Diedrich, who had a career-high three hits. D’Arnaud also had a big day at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with two runs and a pair of RBI, and Ortiz extended his hitting streak to 10 games after leading off the first inning with an infield single.
“The biggest thing going for us right now is that our pitching has been competing well and they’re throwing strikes,” Rodriguez said. “Also, our pitching has been able to rely on defense, but more than anything they’re keeping us in ball games. Our pitching is getting deep in ball games, and our bullpen has been able to stay fresh.”
As if the Waves’ 33 weekend hits were not enough, they returned to the field Tuesday as d’Arnaud highlighted a season-high 16-hit attack with two home runs and a career-high six RBI en route to a 13-2 victory over UC Irvine.
Junior Adam Olbrychowski (2-0) started for the Waves, pitching five scoreless innings.
Tuesday’s game marked the 10th time this season that Waves pitching has allowed three runs or less in a game. During its 11-game homestand in which it went 10-1, Pepperdine posted a 1.73 ERA and limited the opposition to a .208 batting average.
“It’s called good coaching,” Rodriguez said. “We give these kids great opportunities and they get to prosper from those chances. We give them a lot of freedom out there on the mound, but at the same time we’re going to be all over them if they do things wrong.”
The string of victories marked the fourth straight and 10th in their last 11 games for the Waves (11-3).
Pepperdine will look to continue its success when it opens its season-long nine-game road trip on Friday when it plays host East Carolina in the opener of the Keith LeClair Classic in Greenville, N.C. The Waves will continue tournament action Saturday and Sunday against Western Carolina and No.-24 North Carolina State, respectively.
The Waves will miss the start of former Pepperdine pitcher Drew Saberhagen by a day. Saberhagen, a red-shirt sophomore at Western Carolina, leads the Catamounts with a 0.66 ERA in a team-high 13.2 innings pitched and earned his first victory for WCU in seven innings of work Sunday. He will start against Eastern Carolina on Sunday.
“My coach offered to let me pitch, but it’s more of a team game and I don’t have a personal vendetta against Pepperdine because I left on good terms, but I’m excited to see them and I’ve had it marked on my calendar for awhile,” Saberhagen said. “Besides pitching I’ve been getting some DH time, so hopefully I’ll at least get an at-bat.”
03-01-2007
