BOX SCORE I PLAY-BY-PLAY

MALIBU, Calif. – In a thrilling, back-and-forth contest that spanned 11 innings and two days, the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team fell to Pepperdine, 9-8, on Sunday afternoon at Eddy D. Field in game two of this weekend’s three-game series.

EKU (0-2) led 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday when heavy rain arrived and the game was postponed to Sunday.

Pepperdine (2-0) tied it up in the ninth when Brian Humphries lofted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Tyler Brubaker and sent the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Humphries delivered again for the Waves, this time driving a base hit into right field to score pinch-runner Ranny Lowe from second on a game-winning dramatic play at the plate.

Matt Fyffe (0-1) retired the Waves in order in the bottom of the 10th but was saddled with the loss as surrendered Humphries’ game-winning single. Freshman southpaw Kyle McGrath made his first collegiate start on Saturday and went four innings, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out four batters.

Eric Karch (1-0) pitched a scoreless top of the 11th for Pepperdine to earn the win.

Junior Richie Rodriguez did all he could in the loss and continued his torrid start to the season by going 4-for-5 with a go-ahead two-run single in the top of the eighth that gave the Colonels an 8-6 lead. Freshmen Sean Hagen and Bryan Soloman both went 2-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored in the game.

Humphries, Ryan Van Amburg and Miles Silverstein all drove in a pair of runs for Pepperdine in the win.

EKU struck first in the top of the second as juniors Jacob Daniel and Michael Garcia drew back-to-back walks before freshman Soloman drove a one-out double into right-center that scored Daniel and made it 1-0.

Pepperdine answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the second and then took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth; however, EKU rallied to take the lead in the top of the sixth. The rally, again, started with plate discipline as Garcia and senior Ryan Faidley drew consecutive walks to set the stage for EKU’s first home run of the season, a three-run blast to left by Daniel that made it 4-3.

The Colonels added to their lead in the top of the seventh when Daniel drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-3, but a two-out, two-run double to left by Van Amburg capped a three-run bottom of the seventh for the Waves and gave Pepperdine a 6-5 advantage.

Soloman led off the top of the eighth with a base hit to right and then went to second when pinch-hitter Michael Buschmann reached base on an error. After sophomore Matt Phipps bunted his way aboard to load the bases, Hagen laced a single up the middle that scored Soloman and tied it. Rodriguez then picked up his fourth hit of the afternoon with a shot through the left side that plated pinch-runner Jeff Emerich and Phipps and made it 8-6.

Junior right-hander Lincoln Wagner surrendered a run in the bottom of the eighth, but got Chris Amezquita swinging with two men on to end the threat and preserve the lead.

Senior closer Ryne Purcell came on in the ninth and got one out but allowed a runner to reach third before heavy rain arrived and the game was postponed.

EKU will finish the series with Pepperdine today at 3:30 p.m.