MALIBU, Calif. – The USF baseball team suffered a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium. The Dons fall to 8-21 overall and 3-5 in West Coast Conference play.
 
USF starter Thomas Ponticelli (1-3) went 6.2 innings in the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits while walking one and striking out four.
 
Blake Valley (1-for-3), Allen Smoot (1-for-4) and Harrison Bruce (1-for-3) tallied USF's season-low three hits on the day.
 
"I thought Ponticelli was good," said head coach Nino Giarratano. "I thought that was a great start out of him. When you give up two runs through six innings, that's a quality start for us and in this conference we should be in that ballgame.
 
"We didn't defend great today and we didn't pitch well out of the bullpen. Offensively, we're just not there. The game just got away from us from the seventh inning on. For the most part, you look at the first 15 innings of this series and we could very easily be up 2-0 instead of down 2-0."
 
In the bottom of the second, Pepperdine's Chris Fornaci dropped a two-out double down the left field line and came around to score when the next hitter, Chase Lambert, lined the first pitch into right field. Brady Bate's throw from right was just up the third base line, allowing Fornaci to slip around Ryan Matranga's tag, giving the Waves an early 1-0 lead.
 
Pepperdine (13-12, 4-4) then took advantage of a USF fielding error with one out in the bottom of the fifth when Matt Gelalich reached on a mishandled ball by Aaron Ping. Gelalich would come across to score two batters later on Matthew Kanfer's RBI single to right field.
 
The Waves broke it open by scoring three in the bottom of the seventh – all with two outs - to take a 5-0 lead. Anderson and Brandon Caruso drove in runs with RBI infield base hits and Fornaci worked a bases-loaded walk against USF reliever Frank Waliczek.
 
Barnett's two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth gave the Waves some insurance and put them ahead by their final tally of 7-0.   
 
The Dons did not get a runner in scoring position until Smoot hit a two-out single and Brady Bate followed with a hit-by-pitch in the top of the ninth.
 
Pepperdine starter Ryan Wilson threw four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out eight. Right-hander Max Gamboa (1-3) picked up the win in relief, throwing five scoreless innings, allowing two hits with a walk and six strikeouts.   
 
Barnett (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI), Kanfer (2-for-3, RBI), Crowder (2-for-5, R) and Gelalich (2-for-4, 3 R) powered the Waves' offense.
 
 
 
NOTES: 3B Allen Smoot extended his hitting streak to nine games with a two-out single in the top of the ninth inning; that is the longest current streak on the team… USF left six runners on base while Pepperdine stranded nine.
 
UP NEXT: The Dons and Waves wrap up their three-game series from Eddy D. Field Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. RHP James Kannenberg (2-2, 4.31) will take the mound for the Dons, while Pepperdine will feature LHP Easton Lucas (2-3, 5.54).