Waves Make It a Clean Sweep Against Lions : Baseball: Pepperdine outscores Loyola, 30-7, to win three-game series. The Lions have lost five consecutive WCC games.

Seventh-ranked Pepperdine flexed its muscle in a doubleheader at Loyola Marymount’s Page Stadium Saturday, sending the reeling Lions deeper into the West Coast Conference standings.

Chris Sheff’s two-out single in the top of the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie in the second game, and the Waves scored three more runs before the inning was over. The 6-2 victory gave them a sweep of the doubleheader and three-game series.

In the first game, the Waves scored three runs in the sixth inning--helped by two errors on Lion third baseman Chris Intlekofer--on their way to a 7-1 victory.

Including Friday’s 17-4 win, the Waves swept the series by a combined score of 30-7.

Loyola, which has lost five consecutive league games, fell to 8-15 overall and 3-6 in the WCC. Pepperdine improved to 15-6 and 7-1.

“We’ve dug ourselves a pretty deep hole,” first-year Loyola Coach Jody Robinson said. “But there’s still a lot of league games left.”

For six innings, the second game was a pitchers’ duel between Loyola’s Shane Bowers and Pepperdine’s Jerry Aschoff. But Chad Nichols (3-2) relieved Bowers in the seventh and the Waves finally broke through in the eighth.

Sheff’ run-scoring single was followed by a Scott Vollmer single that scored another run. The last two runs scored on an error by Lion third-baseman Jeff Ciccarella, one of six Loyola errors in the doubleheader.

“We wouldn’t be so disappointed (about the sweep) if we had made them do some things to win,” Robinson said. “We couldn’t handle the ball. That’s been our problem all year.”

Loyola’s Bryan Paul, pinch-hitting for second baseman Naoi Yuen, had tied the score, 2-2, with a two-out, run-scoring single in the sixth. It was Paul’s first hit as a collegian.

Ciccarella moved pinch-runner Mike Peters to third with another single, but Pepperdine stopper Steve Montgomery came in to retire Greg Carl on a ground ball to second to end the inning.

Montgomery (3-2), who finished the first game for starter Steve Duda, earned the victory in the second game.

In the first game, Robinson decided to try reliever Bob Noson as a starter, but it soon became apparent that there was no stopping the powerful Pepperdine hitters.

Noson’s task was made more difficult by several defensive mistakes. The worst damage came in the sixth inning, when Intlekofer made two bad throws that led to three Pepperdine runs.

The Waves also stole six bases in nine attempts against Lion catcher Rob Ickes. Noson (1-1) went the distance, however, for the Lions’ second complete game.

Loyola’s best opportunity to get back into the game came in the bottom of the sixth, when Carl and Mike Seal led off with back-to-back line-drive singles off Pepperdine starter Duda (3-0).

After Anthony Napolitano walked to load the bases with nobody out, designated hitter Darren Sugiyama lifted a fly ball to center that scored Carl for what would be Loyola’s only run.

That’s because Steve Montgomery came in from the Pepperdine bullpen to retire the next two batters. Montgomery then pitched a perfect seventh inning.