By Steve Pinkerton
Staff Writer
The Hawaiian Islands were less than paradise for the Waves last weekend, after going 2-2 in games against Hawaii-Hilo’s struggling baseball program.
Pepperdine, now 5-6 on the season, looks onward to the Aggie Continental Airlines Classic this weekend at College Station in Texas. They will play Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Washington State in the tournament.
The Waves aim to be in better shape for those games than they were against Hilo.
Solid defense was the key to Friday’s game. The impressive pitching by Pepperdine sophomores Brandon Boesch and Jacob Barrack, who only allowed one run between them, was simply not enough to stand up against Hilo pitcher Daniel Lockett.
Lockett, a junior, pitched a complete game and allowed only five hits.
Hilo’s one run Friday came from sophomore John Dudoit, who hit an RBI single in the fifth inning. Lockett earned the 1-0 win for the Vulcans.
Saturday’s doubleheader brought brighter results for Pepperdine’s bats.
In the first game, the Waves’ offense awakened and pummeled Hilo. Junior second baseman Duke Sardhina went three for four, scoring three runs himself and sending in four. One of those hits was a homerun, Sardhina’s first this season.
Defensively, senior lefthander Kevin Beavers led his team on the mound. In five innings, he struck out five and allowed only one run.
In the second game of the afternoon, junior Derek Mills continued the trend Beavers had started. Mills’ lucky number for the day was seven, as he pitched a full seven innings, struck out seven batters, and allowed seven hits. Fortunately, Mills allowed only two runs.
The freshmen also showed what they could do Saturday afternoon. Shortstop Patrick Rooney collected hits both times at the plate and knocked in two of Pepperdine’s four runs, while freshman Steve Kleen garnered an additional two hits and one RBI in the nightcap.
Despite Pepperdine’s success on Saturday, Hilo victories framed the four-game series.
On Sunday, the Waves’ only two runs came in the first three innings, driven in by Sardinha and senior catcher Rock Mills.
Waves junior pitcher Greg Ramirez pitched the first six innings and held Hilo to only four hits and two runs.
Senior right fielder Darren Chu did the most damage to Pepperdine’s effort Sunday.
Chu hit a double in the seventh inning that scored freshman outfielder Sean Tamura. Chu was later scored on a single by Dudoit.
Yet Chu saved his biggest assault for the following inning, when he hit a grand slam off of Waves reliever Peter Phillips.
Meanwhile, the Vulcans held Pepperdine at two runs. Junior Jason Castro relieved starting Hilo pitcher Robert Shumabuku and gave up only two hits and no runs in four innings.
On a positive note, Waves junior Ty Harper secured a hit, extending his nine-game hitting streak to ten.
This weekend the Waves will be in Texas at the Continental Airlines Classic. The tournament will begin Friday and end Monday, and is scheduled to feature Pepperdine double-headers on Saturday and Monday.
Their final game in February will pit the Waves against UC Irvine, and then comes a three-game series with UC Santa Barbara, March 1-3.
February 21, 2002