Pepperdine Baseball dropped the conference opener 9-6 against the Pacific Tigers on March 22, at Eddy D. Field Stadium. The Waves now sit at 5-17 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
All but two players in the Waves’ starting lineup tallied a hit on the day, with four players picking up two or more. Where the Waves faltered was with runners left on base, recording 12 in total.
“The bottom of our lineup and the top got on base a lot, creating havoc,” Head Coach Rick Hirtensteiner said. “You know, we were one hit away from coming away with the win.”
On the bump for the Waves was sophomore right-handed pitcher Nick Bonn, going six innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits. Bonn tossed 88 total pitches with 57 strikes, and going into the game, he said that was his plan all along.
“The whole game plan was to attack early,” Bonn said. “Just let my defense work because I got eight guys behind me who wanna get their work in.”
Through the first half inning of work, Bonn allowed four of his seven hits and suffered two earned runs. In the bottom half of the inning, the Waves fought back, with senior third-baseman Charles Masino and freshman infielder/catcher Corwin Hemmingsen picking up an RBI to tie the game.
After the first, the Waves hit a stand-still, failing to put up a run on the board until the seventh inning. Pacific had a similar fate; however, the Tigers were able to jump out in front first, attacking Bonn with a solo homer in the sixth inning.
Pacific tacked on another run on an RBI double in the seventh, and in the eighth inning, Pacific dropped the hammer with a three-run home run making it 7-3. The Waves never let up and clawed back in the game with strong seventh and eighth innings.
Graduate infielder Brady Renck picked up his team-leading third hit of the evening on a two RBI single in the bottom half of the eighth, bringing the Waves to within one run of Pacific coming into the ninth inning.
“I was just trying to keep the line moving,” Renck said. “We had a little two-out rally there, and I was trying to get some runs on the board. I got down to two strikes, and I was just trying to put the ball in play hard somewhere, and I was able to find a hole in left field.”
Still fighting, the Waves entered the ninth down three, and with a single and a couple of walks, the bases were loaded. They were unable to cash in on Pacific’s struggles on the mound.
“We really need to try and find a way to win these games,” Renck said. “Obviously, the non-conference schedule didn’t go our way, so I think our best chance of making postseason is winning conference games.”
Hirtensteiner said the gameplay for the rest of the series is simple: keep throwing strikes, and keep being aggressive with the bats.
“We have a very strong culture here; we’re always in it no matter what the score is,” Bonn said. “This first loss is a setback, but to me, setbacks can be a beautiful thing, and we all still believe we have a strong chance at winning the conference — even that [NCAA] tournament later on.”
The Waves finished the series against Pacific on Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24, picking up back-to-back wins with score lines of 13-6 and 11-4, respectively.
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Contact Justin Rodriguez via email: justin.rodriguez@pepperdine.edu
