Box Score

Junior Jamey Smart and senior Jimmy Hill each posted four hits on Friday afternoon, as LMU (25-13, 12-4 WCC) posted a 7-3 victory over Pepperdine (17-19, 6-7 WCC) to take the first game of a three-game West Coast Conference series being played at Eddy D. Field Stadium.

The four-hit day was the second of the year for Hill, as LMU players have reached that plateau four times.

Smart singled in each of his first four at bats, including punching a run across with a hit in the fifth to make it 2-0 in favor of LMU. Hill had a single in each of his final three at bats to get to four hits, driving in a pair of insurance runs to cap a three-run ninth inning for the Lions.

The Lions got on the board first in the fourth inning when Brandon Shearer delivered an RBI-single over a drawn-in infield to bring home Smart. Shearer finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored and the RBI.

After Smart's RBI-single in the fifth, Pepperdine drew back even on a two-RBI single from freshman Quincy McAfee. The Lions wasted no time reclaiming the lead, scoring twice more in the sixth to chase the starter, Ryan Wilson, and capture a 4-2 advantage. Wilson, who was charged with the loss and fell to 2-4, allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks as Pepperdine was ultimately charged with four errors.

Brenton Arriaga, starting for the first time in a game one of a series in his career, dealt the first 5.1 innings and allowed just three runs (two earned) on five hits to improve to 5-1 with the win. Codie Paiva contributed the final 3.2 scoreless frames, collecting a pair of strikeouts and his second save of the year along the way.

LMU will look to win the series tomorrow when it sends Cory Abbott to the mound at 1 p.m.