STANFORD, Calif. – The #19 Pepperdine baseball team moved to within a win of its first super regional appearance after defeating UC Davis 7-4 on Saturday night at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond.

Pepperdine (38-19) will now face the winner of the UC Davis/Stanford matchup on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Cardinal defeated Arkansas in an elimination game earlier on Saturday, and will face the Aggies on Sunday at 1 p.m. in another elimination game. The winner of the UC Davis/Stanford game will have to defeat Pepperdine twice to advance to the Super Regionals.

Nate Simon (Duvall, Wash./Tulane) put the Waves on top in the second with a two-run homer to give Pepperdine a 2-0 lead. UC Davis got on the board in the third on an RBI single to make it a 2-1 contest.

The Aggies then tied the score at 2-2 in the sixth on another RBI single, but Pepperdine was quick to respond. Bryce Mendonca (San Leandro, Calif./Chabot JC) notched a two-out RBI single and then scored on an RBI single from Matt Aidem (Valencia, Calif./UC Santa Barbara/Valencia HS), putting the Waves ahead 4-2.

Denny Duron (Shreveport, La./Evangel Christian Academy) extended the lead in the eighth as he launched a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, to put the Waves on top 6-2. Davis Harris then notched a two-out RBI double to make it a 7-2 game.

The runs proved to be important, as UC Davis scored a pair of runs on Ty Kelly’s two-run double, cutting the Pepperdine lead to 7-4, but closer Nick Gaudi (Lancaster, Calif./Paraclete HS) came into the game with the tying run at the plate and induced a groundout to keep the score at 7-4.

After the Waves went scoreless in the ninth, Gaudi pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to seal the Waves’ 7-4 win.

Tyler Hess improved to 4-0 after getting the win in relief, while Gaudi earned his 15^th save of the year. Brad McAtee took the loss for UC Davis.

Simon and Duron each went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI, while Chase d'Arnaud (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) and Harris each notched a pair of hits. Kelly led UC Davis with a 4-for-5 effort.

The Waves will now face the winner of the UC Davis/Stanford game on Sunday at 5 p.m.