They are the kings of the diamonds not once, but twice.
Playing in front of a national television audience Saturday night in Stockton, Calif., the Pepperdine University baseball squad won the West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament championship in a 6-1 victory over rival Loyola Marymount.
Combined with its second WCC regular season championship in three years, Pepperdine left no doubt about its status as the best baseball in the conference this year.
The Waves are 39-16 overall, the team’s most wins since 2006. In WCC play, they went 18-9.
“Anytime you can put a banner up, it’s pretty special,” Pepperdine coach Steve Rodriguez said. “It’s something you can always go home with. It’s one of those things you can look back on and say, ‘Hey, I was part of that.’”
Behind a well-balanced starting pitching staff, the Waves earned the WCC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and will begin the postseason this Friday at 1 p.m. against Arizona State in the San Luis Obispo Regional.
“It’s a great feeling. We’ve worked hard all season and continued to get better,” said junior Aaron Brown, the WCC Pitcher of the Year and MVP of the WCC Tournament. “We play as a team, execute and throw well. We’ve done a great job with those things. It’s an honor to be conference champions.”
Brown owns an 11-1 record and a 2.24 ERA on the mound while batting .320 with a team-leading 12 home runs and 45 RBI. He’s also projected to go in the first five rounds of the Major League draft in June.
Along with Brown, sophomore Jackson McClelland (8-3, 3.41) and seniors Corey Miller (8-4, 1.70) and Matt Maurer (4-3, 3.18) form the backbone to a tremendous No. 13-ranked pitching staff in the country with a 2.52 ERA.
“I think the big key for our pitching staff is that we have two seniors and a junior [Brown] who have been here in a starting role,” Miller said. “We’ve been to regionals, won two conference championships and have faced some of the top teams in the nation. The experience we have has been really important to our success.”
Miller almost left at the end of last year after being drafted in the 16th round by the Milwaukee Brewers but decided to return for his final season at Pepperdine. He seems relieved to have made that decision.
“Coming back and winning the championships is awesome,” he said. “I have no regrets. It’s been so worth it.”
Brown, a hard-throwing left-hander with a nasty breaking ball, and Maurer, a crafty and creative pitcher, are a devastating one-two punch from the left side.
Miller commands the hill with a wicked sinker-slider and McClelland pounds the zone with his powerful 95-MPH fastball.
The right-handed duo compliments its southpaw teammates well to give the Waves a starting staff that could carry the team deep into the postseason.
“We all take the same mentality into pitching. We go right after guys and don’t waste time,” McClelland said. “We try to give our team the best chance to win one quality pitch at a time.”
Riding the arms of the talented foursome played a major role in Pepperdine claiming its 17th regular season title overall and the fifth in Rodriguez’s 11 seasons at his alma mater.
“It has been one of the most consistent staffs we have had. We’ve had some pretty good staffs through the years but this staff has brought a new bar to what we are doing,” said Rodriguez, the WCC Coach of the Year. “It’s great to see the competitive nature they have put together. They have set a precedent for years to come.”
Pepperdine garnered multiple players on the All-WCC team. Three Wave pitchers were named to the first team, with Brown and Miller joining senior closer Eric Karch (4-1, 1.80, 13 saves). Junior Austin Davidson and sophomore Hutton Moyer were also named to the team.
Aaron Barnett (team-best .378 average), Brandon Caruso and Manny Jefferson were selected to the All- Freshman team. Barnett also earned All-WCC honorable mention along with Maurer.
Now the road to Omaha, Nebraska, site of the College World Series, begins.
“It’s awesome. It’s something you strive for,” Maurer said. “You go to the field everyday wanting to win. We’ve done that this year. We go out there and compete and fight for everything we get.”