In Long Beach, Waves Hit High-Water Mark, 15-6
A day after returning from a damp and dismal trip to Portland, Pepperdine rained runs all over Long Beach State, winning, 15-6, Tuesday night in a nonconference game before 839 at Blair Field.
The outburst was a season high for the Waves (26-16), who have struggled to score all season. Pepperdine dragged in a team batting average of .251 but rapped out 13 hits, including three each by freshman second baseman David Matranga and senior first baseman Gerardo Gonzalez and two by center fielder Chris Cosbey.
“We needed this game badly, not so much needing to win, but we needed to play and be aggressive at the plate,” Pepperdine Coach Pat Harrison said.
The West Coast Conference race tightened considerably after Pepperdine slipped literally and figuratively in Portland, losing the only game played and having three rained out that won’t be made up. Portland posted its first WCC victory by defeating Waves’ ace Randy Wolf and Pepperdine lost a chance to extend its conference lead.
Pepperdine holds a one-game advantage over San Diego and a two-game bulge over Santa Clara--the team’s opponents the next two weekends.
“Now we are in a position where he have to play well and have to win,” Harrison said.
Tuesday’s performance should provide a boost.
After scoring three runs in the second, Pepperdine exploded for eight runs in the fourth, its biggest inning of the season. A three-run triple by Matranga and a two-run double by Wolf were the key blows.
With key conference series this weekend foremost on the minds of both coaches--Long Beach plays Cal State Fullerton this weekend--nearly as many pitchers were used as position players.
Pepperdine used six, with starter Jason LeBlanc (4-2) getting the victory despite pitching only two innings. An NCAA rule allows a starter to be awarded a victory regardless of the number of innings he pitches during games designated as “staff games.”
Long Beach (28-19), with shortstop Jason Knupfer sidelined because of illness and several other players feeling ill, committed four errors and stranded 10 runners, including the bases loaded three times.
Waves’ Notes
Catcher Dennis Twombley and third baseman J.T. Harrison, both batting under .200, did not start for Pepperdine. . . . Coach Pat Harrison has coached third all season, but he deferred to assistant Dave Rhoades, who must have enjoyed waving in 15 runners. . . . Long Beach State will make a bid to host a regional if the 49ers’ record is good enough to merit a berth, school officials said.
