MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine starter Nathan Newman allowed only one run in a complete game effort and the #24 Waves recorded a 7-1 win over Columbia in the series opener between the two schools on Friday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium.

Pepperdine (7-3) led throughout and Newman (Houston, Texas/Grayson CC) picked up his second win of the season, and second in as many starts. In two games as a starter, he is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA. The Lions fell to 0-5 with the loss.

Pepperdine tallied three hits in the first inning and jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Trent Diedrich (Fresno, Calif./Bullard HS) two-out RBI single. In the third inning, Bryce Mendonca (San Leandro, Calif./Chabot JC) led off the inning with a double, stole third base and scored on an error. Matt Aidem (Valencia, Calif./UC Santa Barbara/Valencia HS) later scored on Eric Thames’ (San Jose, Calif./West Valley JC/Bellarmine Prep) RBI single to make it a 3-0 lead for Pepperdine. The Waves loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth before Ryan Heroy (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) scored on a groundout. Chase d'Arnaud (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) followed with a two-run double to left field to increase Pepperdine’s lead to 6-0. In the fifth, Diedrich led off the frame with a double and scored on Donald Brown’s (Camarillo, Calif./Camarillo HS) sacrifice fly to make it a 7-0 lead, but Columbia answered with their lone run of the game in the top of the sixth on an RBI single. Newman shut out the Lions for the remaining three innings to clinch the 7-1 win and capture his first complete game of the season.

Newman improved to 2-1 with the win while Columbia starter Bill Purdy incurred the loss.

“Nate Newman did a great job today,” Pepperdine coach Steve Rodriguez said. “When you have four games on a weekend, it’s very taxing on your pitching staff, so for him to throw a complete game was big for us. He did a great job of mixing up his pitches, making them hit the ball on the ground and gave our offense a chance to capitalize on some of their mistakes.”

Pepperdine’s offense was led by Thames, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI, Diedrich, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI, d’Arnaud, who notched two RBI, and Mendonca and Aidem, who each scored two runs. The Lions received two-hit performances from Nick Cox and Jason Banos.

The Waves and Lions continue their four-game series with a doubleheader beginning tomorrow at 11 a.m. The first game is scheduled for seven innings, and the second game will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.