No. 3-Ranked USC Wavers Against Pepperdine, 9-2

Pepperdine’s momentum began as a ripple, with a three-game sweep of Washington State, and has grown into a tidal wave with enough force to flatten USC, ranked No. 3 in the nation.

The Waves defeated the Trojans, 9-2, Tuesday in a nonconference game for their 14th victory in 17 games and snapped USC’s seven-game winning streak.

The long dormant bat of Justin Hodgdon awakened to provide the key blow, a grand slam in the fifth inning that carried over the scoreboard beyond the right-field wall and gave Pepperdine (18-11) a 7-2 lead.

Hodgdon, a designated hitter, came in batting only .230 with one home run and seven runs batted in after hitting .345 last season. Although he is a junior in eligibility, Hodgdon plans to graduate this year. His focus on studies has taken away from his baseball commitment.

“He has been really serious about his studies and hasn’t hit outside of practice as much as he did last year,” Coach Pat Harrison said. “He’s the type of player who has to work hard to get results. The past couple weeks he has done that.”

Hodgdon had three hits and five RBIs, giving a boost to a team batting only .251.

USC (19-5), batting .351, struggled against four Wave pitchers. Left-hander Justin Cuellar (2-1) allowed two runs in five innings. Matt Torres, Dave Reed and Eric Brubaker also were effective.

The Waves’ top pitcher, Randy Wolf, played right field and batted third, driving in Pepperdine’s first run with a sacrifice fly and later scoring with a hard slide into home plate.

Wolf also played right field Saturday in Pepperdine’s doubleheader sweep of Gonzaga, one day after he pitched a no-hitter.