MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine baseball team grabbed a crucial West Coast Conference series win over BYU on Saturday with a 4-3 victory thanks to a sixth-inning grand slam by Brad Anderson.
The Waves’ arms again held the WCC’s top offense in check and Anderson came through with the game-winning hit after the Pepperdine broke up a no-hitter in the sixth inning. The Waves move to 22-20 overall, 12-9 WCC, while BYU falls to 31-13, 13-8 WCC. Pepperdine is now two games out of first place and just one back of second after the win.
The Waves dropped the series opener, but came back to win the last two games to grab their fifth straight WCC series win.
BYU got on the board in the first inning, using a walk and two singles to load the bases and set up a
sacrifice fly by Colton Shaver. Waves’ starter Max Gamboa (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais HS) got a fly ball to end the inning and limit the damage after that.
It was all pitching on both sides up until the sixth inning. Riley Gates took a no-hitter into the sixth for the visitors, but hit and walked the first two batters of the frame. Matthew Kanfer (Playa Del Rey, Calif./L.A.C.E.S.) then broke up the no-hitter with a perfectly placed bunt to load the bases. One batter later, Anderson (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) cleared the deck with a shot to left field. The grand slam put Pepperdine up 4-1 and ended Gates’ day.
On the other side, Gamboa settled in after the first and cruised through the next five innings before he was removed in the seventh. The sophomore righty gave up five hits and one earned run in his start, striking out five batters and walking just two. Kiko Garcia (Chula Vista, Calif./St. Augustine HS) would relieve Gamboa following a leadoff single in the seventh, getting two flyouts and a strikeout to end the inning and strand the runner. Matt Gelalich (La Verne, Calif./Bonita HS) caught the final out of the inning, laying out in left-center to make a spectacular catch and rob a base hit.
BYU would threaten in the ninth, scoring two runs on back-to-back RBI singles. Max Green (Rolling Hills Estate, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) came in with two runners on and two outs, and coaxed a soft grounder to first to end the game. It was his first save of the year.
Kanfer had the lone two-hit days for the Waves, who scored their four runs on four hits. Eight different Cougar hitters recorded hits for the visitors.
The Waves hit the road next week, traveling to UCLA for a non-conference game on Tuesday and then to now first-place Saint Mary’s for a three-game WCC series.
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