PORTLAND, Ore. --- After the Portland Pilots tied the score in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Pepperdine Waves responded with nine runs during the final two frames to claim a 12-6 win in the opener of a three-game West Coast Conference series played on a windy Friday night at Joe Etzel Field. Ryan Hoogerwerf went 4-for-5 for the Pilots with four RBI's.
 
The Pilots (6-23-1, 2-8 WCC) couldn't get much going offensively early and trailed 3-0 for the first five innings. That changed in the bottom of the sixth when Portland plated two after the first two batters of the inning had been retired. Kevin Wade got the rally going with a two-out single to right-center field, and Cody Hawken followed with a base hit to left. Tate Budnick then made it three straight two-out singles when he bounced one through the left side, which allowed Wade to score from second.
 
The Pilots weren't done as Hoogerwerf reached with a single, scoring Hawken to make it a 3-2 ballgame. The Waves were then finally able to end the frame on a groundout.
 
An inning later the comeback was complete as Matt Kelly reached on a single, advanced all the way to third base on a failed pick-off attempt, and trotted home with the tying run when Beau Brundage hit a sharp ground ball up the middle.
 
The tie didn't last long as Pepperdine (15-14, 4-3 WCC) answered with five runs in the top of the eighth and four more in the ninth en route to the win.
 
Hoogerwerf added an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and in the ninth he produced a two-run double.
 
Portland reliever Jordan Horak (1-6) takes the loss after surrendering five runs on four hits in an inning-and-a-third. Starter Grady Miller was decent after a shaky start to the game. He lasted 6.0 innings and yielded three runs in the top of the second. Relievers Christian Peters and Jake Hawken also took the mound for the Pilots.
 
Pepperdine starter Ryan Wilson tossed 6.1 innings and didn't factor into the decision, while reliever Kiko Garcia (4-0) claims the win to remain perfect on the year. Christian Stoutland worked the bottom of the ninth.
 
Saturday's game between the Pilots and Waves will begin at 3 p.m., after being originally scheduled for 6 p.m. The game was moved up three hours as the two teams try to avoid forecasted inclement weather.