MALIBU, Ca.-A grand slam from Pepperdine in the eighth inning was the difference maker in Villanova's 6-4 loss Saturday afternoon. The Waves improve to 2-0 while Villanova drops to 0-2.

Chris Rotondo made an instant impact for Villanova with a leadoff homer in the first to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. The one-run lead was enough for Cole Patten, who made his Villanova debut on the mound Saturday. The Seton Hall transfer had an impressive performance  and went on a surreal run where he retired 15 straight batters.

Pepperdine's Cam Conley tied the game at one in the third inning and both sides struggled to score until the eighth inning.

With two runners on base, Rotondo blasted a ball towards the Pacific Ocean for a three-run homer in the eighth, giving the Wildcats a 4-1 lead.

Despite the sudden surge, Villanova began to unravel in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded, an RBI single from John Peck shrunk Villanova's lead to 4-2. Cameron Mathes replaced Patten on the mound in the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs. The first batter Mathes faced was Ryan Johnson, who tipped the scale with a grand slam to give Pepperdine a 6-4 lead.

Inside the Box Score
In his Villanova debut, Cole Patten went 7 and 2/3 innings and struck out six batters with 81 total pitches. 57 of those 81 pitches were strikes.
Rotondo ended the afternoon with a 2-for-4 performance including a pair of homers and four runs batted in.
Vance Anderson and Will Reiner have each recorded a hit in their first two games of the season.

Villanova looks to take the third game of the series against Pepperdine Sunday. Devin Rivera is slated to take the bump for Villanova with first pich at 4:00 pm.