March 26, 2006
Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. - Dan Brauer doubled home two runs to tie the game 2-2 in the top of the ninth only to see a home run in the bottom of the inning defeat Northwestern 4-2 Sunday afternoon in Malibu, Calif. Pepperdine had just five hits in the game to sweep the three-game series. NU falls to 3-15 on the year.
For the third-straight game Pepperdine jumped out on top of Northwestern in the bottom of the first inning. A hit by pitch, a couple stolen bases and a groundout to second base led to the Waves' first run.
Pepperdine pitching was at a premium again on Sunday. Starter James Johnson gave up just two hits in the first six innings. He retired 18 of the first 21 hitters he faced, striking out five. A Caleb Fields (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) single in the second inning, a Tony Vercelli (Wilmington, Ill./Wilmington) walk in the fifth and a Tommy Finn (Valparaiso, Ind./Andrean) were NU's only base runners in the first six innings.
The Pepperdine starter set nine down in a row, walked Vercelli, and then retired 11 more in a row before a ninth-inning single by Stanley Finch (Lubbock, Texas/Cooper).
Following the first inning, Wildcat starter Julio Siberio (Davie, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) was equally as effective. The senior gave up only one hit in the first five innings and struck out four.
But like ranked teams do, Pepperdine manufactured another run in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a leadoff single stole second, a fly ball advanced the runner to third. A sacrifice fly to right field made the score 2-0 in favor of the Waves.
After holding 21st-ranked Pepperdine to three hits in six complete innings, Siberio was relieved by junior Ryan Myers (Lake Villa, Ill./Carmel) to start the seventh inning.
Myers got through the seventh inning with the help of a double play, before loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk in the eighth. With one out, another double play ended the inning.
With Finch on first after singling and two outs on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth inning, Anthony Wycklendt (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) singled to right field to bring up designated hitter Dan Brauer (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South). Brauer delivered a two-RBI double off the centerfield fence. After a Pepperdine pitching chance, a groundball back to the mound ended the Wildcat inning.
After a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, Waves designated hitter Justin Tellam hit a two-run, walk-off home run to defeat NU 4-2.
The `Cats are next in action when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the University of Michigan in its first conference weekend of the season. Game one is set for Friday, March 31 at 2 p.m. (ET).