Pepperdine beats BYU baseball in games 2 and 3 of Malibu series

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Malibu came back swinging hard in the series’ second and third against the Cougars, winning 6-4 on Friday and 9-1 on Saturday.

The Waves’ Aaron Brown was a key asset at bat and on the mound, scoring home runs both days and letting one batter score today.

“He (Brown) beat us twice (Friday and Saturday). He is a force in their lineup and feels like he owns the field,” said BYU coach Mike Littlewood. “We did a decent job with their lineup and didn’t give up on one pitch. We played hard for nine innings.”

Kelton Caldwell hits a home run to put BYU on the board during a rec
Kelton Caldwell hits a home run to put BYU on the board during a recent game.

The Waves scored seven runs in the first four frames, and then Dillon Robinson scored BYU’s one run of the day in that same frame when Brock Whitney tripled to right field. BYU had runners Brennon Lund and Whitney on base in the sixth, but Brown struck out the next batter before they could run home.

“You have to tip your cap to him (Brown),” Whitney said. “He had his stuff working today. We’re still in it if we play well at home and could sneak into the (WCC) tournament.”

Brown also scored a home run yesterday in the first inning, followed by teammate Austin Davidson in the fifth.

Yesterday BYU did better against Brown and his Waves, starting in the fourth inning when Jarrett Jarvis scored off Hayden Nielsen’s single to left field. In the fifth, the Waves scored three more runs, putting them up 5-1.

BYU loaded the bases in the sixth, scoring Kelton Caldwell when Lund beat out an RBI single. The Cougars loaded the bases again in the ninth, with singles from Robinson, Whitney, Bret Lopez and Eric Urry. Whitney scored on Urry’s single, finalizing the score 6-4.

“It was frustrating, but I loved our fight,” Littlewood said of yesterday’s game. “If we keep doing this it is going to help us get that fourth spot in the tournament. But we can’t afford to lose too many.”

BYU will next face No. 14 UC Santa Barbara at 1 p.m. (PDT) before returning to Miller Field for nine home games.

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