MALIBU, Calif. — Despite scoring four unanswered runs to take a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning, San Diego baseball was unable to hold on and secure the series, falling 7-4 in the rubber game against Pepperdine Sunday at Eddy D. Field Stadium. 

After allowing a three-run homer in the first inning, The Toreros (9-17, 2-4 WCC) responded with an RBI single from Connor Meidroth in the second, run-scoring hits from CJ Moran and Andrew Gauna in the third, and an RBI double in the fourth from Phoenix Brant, who made his second collegiate start in right field. 

But the Waves (7-19, 4-2 WCC) shut down the Toreros the rest of the way, allowing only one hit from the fifth inning on. 

After Kyle Bade pitched the first inning, Drake Frize threw three scoreless frames while the offense punched back before running into trouble in the fifth. 
 
Porter Rovin and Caleb Sebek combined to pitch the sixth and seventh innings before Hayden Cody took the final inning-and-a-third. 

San Diego's defense turned a season-high three double plays. CJ Moran caught a ball while diving to his right before beating a Waves runner back to first base in the opening frame.   

Pepperdine was led by Dylan Stewart, who threw five scoreless innings in relief. 

NOTABLE

• San Diego turned in a season-high three double plays, surpassing the two it turned against Gonzaga (March 22) and at California (March 7) 
• Meidroth, who got the start at third base, paced the Toreros offense by going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. It is the senior's first three-hit performance of 2026 and his first since going 3-for-4 at Saint Mary's (April 12, 2025). 
• Brant recorded his second start of his collegiate career and first since facing Cal in the second game of the Toreros' doubleheader on March 7. He went 1-for-4 against the Waves while earning his first double of the season.
• Gauna went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. It caps off a weekend in which the graduate student notched his seventh multi-hit game this season and his fourth in the last seven games. 
• Cody recorded his third scoreless outing in his last four appearances by going 1.1 innings while working around two walks and earning a strikeout. 

UP NEXT 
San Diego returns home to Fowler Park for a weekend series against Santa Clara April 2-4. First pitch for both Thursday and Friday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. before a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. All three games of the series between the Toreros and the Broncos will be streamed live on ESPN+.