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In a 16-10 slugfest, California State University, Northridge defeated the Pepperdine baseball team during a non-conference contest Tuesday afternoon.
This halted a three-game winning streak by the Waves, the longest of the season thus far. Over the weekend, Pepperdine had completed a three-game series sweep of WCC foe Portland.
“Although we continued to hit the ball well against Cal State Northridge, our pitchers just weren’t getting ahead of their batters,” senior infielder Brent Haapanen said. “They did a great job of capitalizing on our mistakes, and that is the reason CSUN was able to produce more runs than us.”
Despite the loss, Pepperdine has lately been putting up massive numbers in the runs and hits department. This continued Tuesday, as the Waves were able to jump out to an early 2-0 lead over the Matadors during the first inning with a two-run homer by senior first baseman Brent Lewis.
An RBI single by sophomore outfielder Taylor Klosowski and two-run homer by sophomore second baseman David Uribes added to this lead in the second inning, making it 5-1.
“We got off to a slow start at the first of the season,” Brent Lewis said. “But right now we are swinging the bats as well as we ever have.”
Unfortunately for the Waves, Cal State Northridge put on a hitting display of its own, claiming a 7-5 lead in the fourth inning with a three-run home run. From that point on, the Matadors never looked back as they cruised to the 16-10 win off of 20 team hits. Tuesday’s loss knocked Pepperdine down to an overall record of 11-15.
“Our defense is starting to really come together, and obviously we are hitting the ball very well right now,” Lewis said. “We also have a very good pitching staff, but they are just struggling a bit right now.”
While Pepperdine’s non-conference woes continue, the Waves currently sit atop the WCC standings with a 5-1-conference record. The highlight of conference play thus far came this past weekend in Portland, where the baseball team totaled an incredible 47 runs in three wins over the Pilots. These runs came during double-header victories on Saturday 10-4 and 24-8, and a 13-5 win Sunday to complete the series sweep.
“It is always tough to travel away and play a double-header, especially when the weather is bad like it was with the cold and rain in Portland,” Haapanen said. “We therefore had to be extra-focused on the games, and I think that was the key to us being so prepared and doing so well.”
The second double-header game on Saturday was perhaps Pepperdine’s best this season, producing a school-record 31 hits en route to a 24-8 hammering of Portland.
Lewis led the Waves attack as he completed a career-best five-of-five at the plate, tying the Pepperdine single-game record, and matching his personal-high of five RBI’s. His biggest hit of the game came in the sixth inning as he knocked a three-run homer over the right field fence, capping off a 9-run inning by the Waves.
“I have really started to get into a groove and hit the ball well lately,” Lewis said. “The first couple of games this season I started off slow due to a pulled hamstring. I am just now mentally getting over that injury, and I am starting to feel much more comfortable at the plate.”
During Saturday afternoon’s batting marathon, every starter for the Waves had at least two hits. This included five Pepperdine home runs by Lewis (1), freshman left fielder Mike Craig (1), junior DH Steve Kleen (1), and freshman catcher Chad Tracy (2).
“We definitely had our best hitting performance of the year over the weekend,” Haapanen said. “But what really helped us during the Portland series was the great work we got from our pitching staff. Solid pitching by Jacob Barrack, Kea Kometani, and Brandon Boesch really allowed our team to be in position to stay ahead all weekend and complete the series sweep.”
The Pepperdine baseball team looks to continue its WCC success as it hosts San Francisco in a three-game series this weekend in Malibu. The team hopes to continue its superb conference play in its quest to win the WCC and secure a spot in NCAA Regional play.
“We have started off really well in the conference,” Lewis said. “As long as we keep hitting the ball well, and our pitching continues to improve, we expect to win the WCC and put ourselves in position for post-season play.”
Submitted April 1, 2004
MALIBU, CA
