Pepperdine, UC Irvine in the driver’s seat

Denny Duron and Nate Simon each hit two-run homers as Pepperdine defeated UC Davis, 9-4, at the Stanford NCAA baseball regional Saturday.

Blake Mendonca singled in the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie to put the Waves (38-19) within one win of advancing to a super regional. The Aggies (35-23) have a rematch with Stanford in an elimination game this afternoon. The survivor gets a shot at the Waves tonight, and must beat them twice to advance.

The Waves have not been to the College World Series since winning the 1992 national championship. UC Davis made the postseason in its first year as a full-fledged Division I school.

UC Irvine 3, Nebraska 2 -- Daniel Bibona gave up four hits over eight innings, allowing only one baserunner after the third, and Ollie Linton hit a tiebreaking homer in the fifth for UC Irvine at Lincoln, Neb.

The Anteaters (40-16) now await the winner of an elimination game this afternoon between the host Cornhuskers (41-15-1) and Oral Roberts (47-13). Irvine can wrap up the regional with a victory tonight.