DAVID NAKAGAMI
Sports Assistant
The No.-12 Pepperdine baseball team played a three-game set against UC Santa Barbara this week, winning the series 2-1. At Santa Barbara on Saturday, Pepperdine’s offense exploded to give the Waves a 16-1 victory. Returning to Malibu, the Gauchos locked down on the Waves, shutting them out 7-0 on Sunday. Pepperdine won the final game of the series Monday with another impressive offensive display, 11-3.
In the first game, the Waves gave all the run support starter Barry Enright would need by the second inning. Each Waves starting position player had at least one hit, with shortstop Danny Worth leading the barrage. Worth went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Right fielder Donald Brown contributed two RBIs on 3-for-4 hitting. In addition, Luke Salas and Travis Tartamella hit one long fly each. The win moved Enright to 6-1 on the season.
Behind a strong pitching performance by Chuck Higgins, the Gauchos took the second game of the three-game series by a score of 7-0.
Waves starter Brett Hunter was pounded for six earned runs in 1.1 innings, walking three while striking out one. The offense that had been so potent the day before had all but disappeared. In a losing effort, leadoff hitter Adrian Ortiz hit 3-for-5, and swiped his team-leading ninth base of the season.
“We swung the bat really well, but the balls weren’t falling,” Brown said.
Pepperdine returned to their winning ways Monday, defeating the Gauchos 11-3 to win the season series. Robert Dickmann threw five strong innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits. Worth hit his third home run of the season, and second baseman Denny Duron had two hits and two RBIs.
Although Hunter had a tough outing, Enright, Adam Olbrychowski and Dickmann have proved to be a formidable starting corps for the Waves. The Santa Barbara series solidified this fact.
“We have a ton of depth in terms of starting pitching,” Brown said. “It’s extremely important to have good starters.”
03-29-2007
