After blowout loss, USC baseball can look to world champion Dodgers for inspiration
On Sunday night, USC baseball was blown out 14-1 by Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament. With the loss, the Trojans blew an opportunity to clinch their first trip to the super regionals in 19 years. Instead, the two teams will play a winner-take-all game on Monday afternoon in order to decide who moves on.
Obviously, losing a postseason game by 13 runs is demoralizing. However, the Trojans do not have time to wallow. They have to turn around and play a decisive game less than 24 hours later. For inspiration, Andy Stankiewicz's team can look just a few miles up the road at the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Last October, the Dodgers entered Game 5 of the NLCS with a chance to clinch to clinch a trip to the World Series with a win. Like the Trojans on Sunday, however, Los Angeles's potential clincher turned into a nightmare. The Dodgers were blown out 12-6 by the New York Mets in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score indicated.
Two days later, the Dodgers had another chance to clinch the pennant. This time, they finished the job, handling New York 10-5 to win the National League and advance to the Fall Classic.
In the World Series against the New York Yankees, the same scenario unfolded. With a chance to clinch the title in Game 4, the Dodgers were blown out 11-4. The following night, however, it was a different story, as LA pulled out a 7-6 instant classic victory to win the championship.
On two separate occasions, the Dodgers had a chance to clinch a series, but instead suffered a blowout loss. Both times, they responded emphatically in the following game, getting the win they needed.
On Monday, USC baseball will look to do the same. After being blown out in a potential clincher on Sunday, the Trojans will get another shot on Monday in a winner-take-all game. If they want to emerge victorious, the Trojans will need to put the struggles of the last game behind them and focus on the task at hand.
Fortunately for the Trojans, there is a very clear blueprint on how to do so. To find it, they need only look to their baseball brethren in Los Angeles.
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