MALIBU, Calif. – It was a good old-fashioned pitcher's duel at Eddy D. Field Stadium on Friday afternoon as both hurlers kept a scoreless game going until the seventh inning when Pepperdine finally plated a run on a sacrifice fly to center field.
 
USF starter Anthony Shew (1-4) went seven strong innings in the loss, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out three.
 
Meanwhile, Waves' starter A.J. Puckett (4-2) earned the win with 8.2 scoreless innings where he scattered five hits, walked two and struck out 10. Chandler Blanchard earned his first save by getting the final out in the ninth.  
 
USF (8-20, 3-4) loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth as Harrison Bruce led off the inning with an infield single, Allen Smoot worked a two-out walk and Nico Giarratano looped a base hit to right field, but Beau Bozett's groundout to second base ended the ballgame.
 
"Tough, tough game," said head coach Nino Giarratano. "Good baseball game today. I thought Shew pitched great, I though Puckett pitched great for them. We're just missing a little bit. We misplayed a pop up and made [Shew] go 15 extra pitches, we dropped a ball on a ground ball and made him go eight extra pitches; you take those 23 pitches away and Shew's at 85 pitches going into the eighth. It's just one of those things.  
 
"We're close. We played well today but just didn't get that big hit when we needed it. Altogether, if we don't let [Puckett] strike out 10 and we can put three more balls in play, we've got a chance to win the game. We're just not making the right decisions and making the right plays, and that's why we're getting beat."
 
Mack Meyer threw one inning of relief, allowing one run on one hit.
 
Harrison Bruce, Blake Valley, Allen Smoot, Nico Giarratano and Ross Puskarich tallied the Dons' five hits on the day.  
 
Pepperdine (12-12, 3-4) mounted its first real threat in the bottom of the fifth when the Waves got base hits from Jack Ross and Matt Crowder to start the inning before both runners eventually moved up on a sacrifice bunt. But Shew shut down the opportunity by stranding the runners with back-to-back fly outs to get out of the jam.
 
The Waves put together another push in the next inning when an error by Ross Puskarich put Pepperdine runners at first and third with two outs, but Shew got Ross swinging to end it and keep the game scoreless through six.
 
In the top of the seventh, Valley sliced a first-pitch two-out double to right field, giving the Dons their first baserunner since Smoot's single to lead off the top of the second. A walk to Smoot sent Giarratano to the plate with runners on first and second and chance to break the stalemate, but Giarratano popped up to second base to leave both runners stranded.   
 
Crowder helped finally get Pepperdine on the board when he led off the bottom of the seventh with a double down the left field line and was brought home two batters later on Chase Lambert's sacrifice fly to center, giving the Waves a 1-0 lead.
 
USF had its best chance in the top of the eighth when the Dons got a runner on second with one out before Ryan Matranga lined a ball that was snagged by first baseman Brad Anderson, coming inches away from a run-scoring extra-base hit.
 
With two outs, the next batter, pinch-hitter Dan James, hit a sharp ground ball that was mishandled by Pepperdine shortstop Manny Jefferson, appearing to give USF a chance to extend the inning as the ball bounced toward the outfield grass, but pinch-runner Beau Bozett was caught in a rundown between third and home as Jefferson corralled the misplay, ending the inning without a USF run coming across.
 
Brad Anderson's solo home run off Meyer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth gave the Waves an insurance run.
 
Matt Crowder (2-for-3, R) helped lead the Waves at the plate, while Brad Anderson (1-for-4, HR) and Chase Lambert (0-for-1, 2 SAC) drove in Pepperdine's two runs.
 
 
NOTES: 3B Allen Smoot extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single to lead off the second inning; that is the longest current streak on the team… RHP Anthony Shew registered his team-best fourth quality start in six starts this season… USF dropped to 2-11 in games decided by two runs or less… both teams left six runners on base.    
 
UP NEXT: The Dons and Waves continue their three-game series from Eddy D. Field Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. RHP Thomas Ponticelli (1-2, 6.00) will take the mound for the Dons and will be countered by LHP Ryan Wilson (0-0, 1.42) for the Waves.