MALIBU, Calif. — Aaron Brown pitched his first career complete game and the Pepperdine offense knocked 13 hits as the Waves salvaged a 10-5 win against Gonzaga Sunday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
After Gonzaga (26-11-1, 13-5) held the Waves to only three runs in the first two games of the series, Pepperdine (21-17, 9-6) was able to knock around Bulldogs starter Zack Abbruzza, chasing him after 2 2/3 innings.
Gonzaga took the early lead manufacturing runs in the first and second innings, but Pepperdine responded in the second inning thanks to the hustle of Ranny Lowe, who beat out a two-out chopper to shortstop with runners on the corners to score a run and keep the inning alive. Drew Hacker followed with an RBI single to tie the game.
The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead for a half inning, but Pepperdine was able to score three two-out runs with the bases loaded to take a 5-3 lead. Devin Carter lined an RBI single before Lowe’s speed kept another inning alive. He dribbled a ball 15-20 feet down the third base line and beat catcher Travis Forbes’ throw to first for his second infield RBI single.
Chris Amezquita broke the game open in the fourth inning when he went down and got an Arturo Reyes slider. He powered it over the fence in dead centerfield for a three-run home run — his sixth homer of the year.
After the first few innings, Brown really found his groove, allowing only three hits over the final six frames. Gonzaga was able to get an unearned run in the seventh inning, but the Waves responded with two runs on a single from Hacker in the bottom half of the inning.
Hacker finished 2-for-3 with four RBI while Amezquita was 2-for-3 with three RBI. Bryan Langlois and Sam Meyer both had three hits and scored two runs each. Jimmy Sinatro, who entered for Forbes, was the only Gonzaga hitter with multiple hits.
Check out the 18-shot photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s series finale:
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