Waves Defeat Tigers 10-8

FULLERTON, CALIF. – Pepperdine broke an 8-8 tie with two runs in the ninth inning to defeat Clemson 10-8 in the Fullerton Regional at Goodwin Field on Saturday afternoon. The Waves, who stayed alive in the losers’ bracket, improved to 31-28. The Tigers’ season came to an end with a 32-29 record.

In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, the Waves jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Waves scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to build a 7-0 lead. Clemson responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and sixth runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by two-run singles by Tyler Krieger and Chris Okey and a two-run triple by Tyler Slaton to give Clemson an 8-7 lead. But Pepperdine tied the score with a run in the eighth inning and took the lead in the ninth inning.

Max Gamboa (6-2) earned the win, while Pat Krall (2-4) suffered the loss.

“They came out and punched us right in the mouth, down by seven,” said Steven Duggar, who had a single, two walks and two runs. “The attitude from there was to put some at-bats together and try to chip away. I was extremely proud of the way our lineup handled our at-bats from then on out, and we were able to put ourselves in a position to win.”

[View the story “TBA vs. Clemson (May 30, 2015)” on Storify]