MALIBU, Calif. – Gonzaga battled Pepperdine late in their series finale on Sunday at Eddy D. Field, with the Bulldogs emerging with a 3-2 victory to clinch the series in the rubber match with the Waves. Justin Feld (W, 2-3) threw six and two-thirds innings to earn his second straight winning decision while Ryan Hernandez (S, 1) completed the final frames to earn the save.
 
After dropping eight straight games, Gonzaga (8-13, 2-1 WCC) has won six of their last seven and sits tied for second place in the West Coast Conference standings after the first week of league play. Pepperdine (5-18, 1-2 WCC) rallied for one run in the ninth but fell short in Sunday's finale.
 
The Waves threatened with the bases loaded early in the first, but Feld and his defense shut down the threat with a pop-up and a double play to keep Pepperdine off the board.
 
The game would remain scoreless until the fifth when Nick Upstill took Feld deep to right field, putting the Waves up 1-0. Gonzaga would respond in the next half-inning, with Tommy Eisentat doubling home a pair of runs to vault the Zags in front 2-1.
 
An insurance run came through for GU in the eighth on a first-and-third double steal that allowed Josh Hankins to score. The run would make the difference, as Andrew Savage homered with one out in the ninth for Pepperdine to make it 3-2, keeping the Bulldogs in front by one.
 
Hernandez induced a flyout and a groundout to complete his first career save, striking out two over two and one-third innings.
 
Hudson Shupe was the lone Zag with multiple hits on Sunday, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored. After a 3-for-6 day on Saturday, Hankins went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk in game three.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will face Washington State in their first of four meetings this season on Tuesday at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman. The Bulldogs will return home after a 12-game road trip to welcome Pacific to Patterson Baseball Complex for a three-game WCC series next weekend.