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USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC baseball holds off Saint Mary's, advances to regional final
USC baseball holds off Saint Mary's, advances to regional final On Friday, USC baseball won its first NCAA Tournament game in 10 years. On Saturday night, the Trojans followed it up with another victory, defeating Saint Mary's 6-4. The Trojans will play for a regional championship. They are one of 32 teams left standing at the 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament. USC fell behind 3-1 early in Saturday's game against Saint Mary's. However, Augie Lopez tied it up with a two-run home run in the fourth inning, and Ethan Hedges hit a solo shot in the fifth to give the Trojans the lead. USC added an insurance run in the seventh, and escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth inning allowing just one run to preserve a 5-4 lead. USC added one more in the bottom of the eighth for the final margin. USC's Caden Hunter, who spent the majority of the season as a starter, came out of the bullpen to pick up a four-out save. With the victory, USC advances to the Corvallis Regional final. Saint Mary's will face Oregon State at 3 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday. The Trojans will play the winner of that game shortly following, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. Having won both of its first two games, USC has the significant advantage of coming out of the winner's bracket. If the Trojans win Sunday night, they will advance to the NCAA Super Regional. Should they lose, they would get another crack at either the Gaels or Beavers on Monday. USC has not been to the super regional round of the tournament since 2006. Sunday night, the Trojans will aim to end that drought.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ethan Hedges homers twice to lift USC baseball past Saint Mary's in NCAA tournament
USC's Augie Lopez hits a home run against Saint Mary's at the Corvallis Regional of the NCAA baseball tournament on Saturday night. The Trojans won 6-4. (Shotgun Spratling / For The Times) Saint Mary's coach Eric Valenzuela knew who he didn't want to beat him. Valenzuela said before Saturday night's matchup with USC that Ethan Hedges is the scariest hitter in the Trojans' lineup even though the midseason All-American hadn't played to the same standard in the second half. Hedges was hitting .415 with 22 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, and 39 RBIs through USC's first 32 games. But since April 8, Hedges had lacked the same electricity. Over a 25-game span, he had batted .247 with just five extra-base hits and 17 RBIs. Advertisement Still the fear was there for opposing coaches. Hedges showed why Saturday. USC's Adrian Lopez (5) forces out Saint Mary's Diego Castellanos out at first base on Saturday. (Shotgun Spratling / For The Times) He broke out with a two-homer performance, including the go-ahead long ball, to power USC to a 6-4 victory and into the Corvallis Regional final. The Trojans are one win away from their first super regionals appearance since 2005. USC left-hander Mason Edwards pitched an efficient 5⅓ innings, needing just 64 pitches before he was removed after giving up his sixth hit. Two of those left the yard, giving Saint Mary's a 3-1 lead early, but USC showed the resiliency that has been a key element of the program under third-year coach Andy Stankiewicz. Advertisement With two outs and seemingly no momentum in the fourth inning, USC's Abbrie Covarrubias got on base by beating out a high chopper to shortstop. Freshman Augie Lopez tied it two pitches later when he demolished a fastball, putting it on top of the scoreboard in right-center field. USC pitcher Mason Edwards delivers against Saint Mary's in the Corvallis Regional on Saturday. (Shotgun Spratling / For The Times) Hedges' second blast gave USC a 4-3 lead an inning later. The Trojans led 5-3 heading into the eighth when things got dicey. Saint Mary's loaded the bases with a pair of soft singles to right field and a four-pitch walk. A sacrifice fly brought Gaels three-hole hitter Aiden Taurek to the plate. USC ace reliever Brodie Purcell got Taurek to ground into a fielder's choice, but then Stankiewicz made the intriguing decision to pull the right-handed Purcell, the Trojans' workhorse out of the 'pen all season, in favor of left-hander Caden Hunter despite a right-handed hitter due up. Advertisement Hunter, who had worked as a starter until the last couple weeks, struck out Saint Mary's cleanup hitter Ryan Pierce on a 95-mph fastball after pumping multiple 96- and 97-mph offerings — his hardest pitches of the season — earlier in the count. The Trojans added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning before Hunter dismissed Saint Mary's final three batters to collect his first Division I save. USC advances to the Sunday night regional final at 7 p.m. where it will await the winner of Sunday afternoon's 3 p.m. matchup between top-seed Oregon State and No. 4 seed Saint Mary's. If USC were to lose Sunday night's game, a winner-take-all game would be played Monday. USC's Abbrie Covarrubias tags out Saint Mary's Cody Kashimoto on a stolen base attempt on Saturday. (Shotgun Spratling / For The Times) Sign up for more USC news with Times of Troy. In your inbox every Monday morning. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
