May 7- Pepperdine swept the WCC/Rawlings Player/Pitcher of the Month honors for April as the Waves held onto their lead in the Coast Division. Junior Chris Kelly led the WCC with a .453 batting average and moved into second place on Pepperdine's all-time homerun chart by hitting six dingers. Senior Greg Ramirez won all four of his starts for the Waves while striking out 35 batters in 34 innings.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH - Chris Kelly, Pepperdine
Pepperdine’s Chris Kelly has been tabbed as the WCC/Rawlings Player of the Month after leading the Waves to a 14-2 record in April. During the month, Kelly established himself as one of the premier power hitters in Pepperdine history. The junior slugged six homeruns for the Waves, all of them coming during conference play. Kelly notched a league-high slugging percentage of .969 while also pacing the conference with 13 doubles and tying for the conference lead in RBI with 19. The Las Vegas, NV, native batted a conference-high .453 (29-for-64), led the Waves with 21 runs scored and collected nine multiple-hit games. Kelly excelled in conference play as he batted at a .500 (24-for-48) clip with 11 doubles, a triple and 18 RBI. Eighteen of his 24 hits in WCC play went for extra bases. The first baseman surged into second place on Pepperdine’s all-time homerun chart with 39 career dingers, just six behind the all-time leader, Dane Sardinha. Kelly also tied single-game career-highs for hits (4) and RBI (5) during the month.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH - Greg Ramirez, Pepperdine
Pepperdine’s Greg Ramirez earned WCC/Rawlings Pitcher of the Month honors for April after dominating opposing hitters in four starts. The Oxnard, CA, native posted a conference-high 4 wins and a 2.38 earned run average, all against West Coast Conference opponents. Ramirez surrendered only nine earned runs through 34 innings of work, striking out a conference-high 35 batters and limiting opposition to a .185 batting average. The senior was a workhorse for Pepperdine, leading the conference with an 8.5 innings per game average as the Waves went 14-2 and held on to the lead in the Coast Division. Ramirez struck out a career-high 13 batters in eight innings during an 8-5 win over San Francisco on April 17 and followed that up with a 10 strikeout performance against Portland on April 25. Ramirez averaged 9.26 strikeouts per game, ranking second in the WCC. Two of his four conference wins were complete games, putting him in a tie for first place in the conference with four. Ramirez was named the WCC/Rawlings Co-Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 21.