Schenewerk Makes Strong Pitch for Pepperdine, 8-2

On a day memories of good times and great games flooded the minds of coaches on both sides, Steve Schenewerk reached back three years and found nine innings.

The senior right-hander pitched his first complete game since his freshman season in the Waves’ 8-2 victory over California on Friday at Pepperdine. Schenewerk walked none and allowed runs in the first and ninth innings.

The effort was as welcome and as unexpected as the sunny skies overhead.

Jay Adams, Pepperdine’s ace, is out indefinitely because of shoulder problems. A strong performance in the first of a three-game series by Schenewerk takes a load off the rest of the pitching staff.

And a load off the mind of Coach Frank Sanchez.

“Who knows when Jay will be [healthy]?” he said. “Steve came through with a great game.”

Sanchez especially enjoyed the victory because Coach David Esquer of Cal was his top assistant the last three seasons.

Dan Hubbs, the Bears’ pitching coach, was a Pepperdine assistant last season and pitched at USC when Sanchez was a Trojan assistant. And Cal assistant David Lawn pitched for Sanchez in the Alaskan Summer League.

“It was three against one,” Sanchez joked.

Schenewerk (1-0) evened the odds.

He is 21-9 in his career and one victory from cracking the school’s top-10. He hadn’t pitched a complete game since 1997 when he had six.

“I remember thinking in the third inning that I hoped I’d have enough to get to the sixth or seventh,” he said.

Pepperdine (4-5) scored five runs in the third, however, and Schenewerk bore down.

“I didn’t have to be so fine,” he said. “I came right after them.”

Developing a split-finger fastball has made Schenewerk a better pitcher. Perhaps even the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation.

“I’m not the prototype of a No. 1 because I don’t throw hard, but by this point I know what I have to do to be successful,” he said.

Pepperdine pounded out 11 hits and took advantage of seven walks and four hit batsmen.

Trevor Hutchinson, who started for the Bears, hit all four, including two in a row in the third to force in Austin Evans with the Waves’ first run. Duke Sardinha then hit a two-run single and Jeremy Coronado hit a two-run double.

Evans did the most to help Pepperdine extend the lead. He doubled to score Jeremy White in the fifth and drove in White with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.