Latest news with #Trojan
American Press
3 hours ago
- Sport
- American Press
Little Rock 'walks' all over LSU to force must-win Monday game
Sunday's Game —Little Rock 10, LSU 4 Monday's Game (8 p.m. / ESPN2) — Little Rock vs. LSU LSU coach Jay Johnson was confident he had plenty of options for the NCAA regional's championship round after burning his co-ace starting pitchers to win the first two games. The options are still there — and maybe Johnson can find one who can throw a strike. But the Tigers, who dominated those first two regional games without allowing a run, are fresh out of wiggle room after struggling to find the plate Sunday night in a gift-wrapped 10-4 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock. It sets up a regional winner-take-all game Monday between the Tigers, the No. 6 national seed, and the tournament's latest and perhaps most unlikely Cinderella story. 'We've done a good job all year of bouncing back after a tough game, individually and collectively,' Johnson said. 'It gives me great confidence. 'Less than 24 hours ago, we probably played the cleanest and best brand of baseball that you could possibly play at this level. So I'm excited to see them do that tomorrow.' Throwing strikes would be a start. The Trojans, now 27-33, but still the only team in the NCAA tournament with a losing record, won their third straight game in Baton Rouge since falling to LSU 7-0 in the regional opener Friday night. The latest was a walk in The Box. The Tigers used five different pitchers to issue a season-high 11 walks. It didn't matter that LSU out-hit the Trojans 11-8. Eight of the Trojans' 10 runs reached base via walks, the last one, perhaps fittingly, scoring on the last of the Tigers' four wild pitches. 'Our game tonight kind of speaks for itself where it got away from us,' Johnson said. 'We'll leave it here tonight, turn all our focus to tomorrow and find a way to play great.' The Tigers' hitters won't be doing much finger-pointing. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first, the Tigers had only one base runner over the final four inning — briefly before he was erased by a double play. But LSU stranded 11 over the first five innings, seven of them in scoring position. The Tigers left the bases loaded without scoring in both the third and fourth innings. 'Credit them,' Johnson said of the four pitchers Little Rock pieced together for the nine innings. 'I thought they executed a few good pitches at key times and we … trying to do too much is not a good plan.' Regardless of who wins Monday, Trojan first baseman Angel Canon pretty well wrapped up the regional MVP award. He hit a 2-run homer and a 3-run double against LSU, giving him three bombs, three doubles and 14 RBIs in the Trojans' three wins. The Tigers set the table for him. LSU starter Jaden Noot walked a man just before Cano's home run in the second and Chase Shores walked the first three batters of the third inning before Cano cleared the bases with a double. Somehow LSU stayed within striking distance until the Trojans put it away with four runs in the eighth— all four reaching by walks, three of them scoring before the only hit of the inning. It was LSU's first-ever loss at home to a regional No. 4 seed. They're now 19-1 since the current format began in 1999. Little Rock has done this before. The Trojans needed a tie-breaker just to make the eight-team field of the of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, then won five games in four days to claim a bid to the NCAA tournament. They bounced back from Friday's loss to LSU to beat Rhode Island on Saturday and took down Dallas Baptist earlier Sunday afternoon to get another shot at the Tigers. 'They're a hot team,' Johnson said. 'They've been playing well for the past two weeks. You give a team that's playing well more opportunities, you put yourself in a tough spot. 'Just like everybody else, I would have rather won tonight and wrapped it up. We didn't and that's because the opponent did a great job. I just think about the opportunity for tomorrow.'
USA Today
19 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Claude Pelon in focus
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Claude Pelon in focus The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 90 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we take a look back at former USC defensive lineman Claude Pelon. Position: Defensive line Years played at USC: 2014-2015 Career highlights: Originally from Orlando, Florida, Pelon spent the first three years of his collegiate career at junior college, before transferring to USC in 2014. In two seasons with the Trojans, he recorded 46 tackles and four sacks. Pelon made two particularly memorable plays during his time in Cardinal and Gold. In a 2014 game at Arizona, he blocked a field goal that proved to be massive in the Trojans' upset of the No, 10 Wildcats. Then in the 2015 Crosstown Showdown vs. UCLA, Pelon had a strip sack of Bruins' quarterback Josh Rosen that teammate Rasheem Green picked up and ran back for a Trojans touchdown. After USC: Pelon signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent following the 2016 NFL Draft. He appeared in one game for the team in 2017, recording two tackles. Pelon also briefly spent time with the Tennessee Titans.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC makes another huge splash on recruiting trail, lands five-star tight end Mark Bowman
USC makes another huge splash on recruiting trail, lands five-star tight end Mark Bowman USC football recruiting tsunami isn't slowing down at all USC football just continues to load up on the recruiting trail. On Friday, the Trojans added to their already top-ranked 2026 recruiting class, landing one of the top players in the cycle: five-star tight end Mark Bowman. Bowman plays at longtime USC feeder program Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. He reclassified from the class of 2027 to 2026 earlier this year. 247Sports Composite ranks him as the No. 16 overall player and the No. 1 tight end in his class. Following the news, the USC football social media account posted a video edit that featured Trojan alum Will Ferrell jumping into a pool in the movie Anchorman. The video was a seemingly subtle troll of Oregon head coach Dan Lanning. Lanning recently went viral on social media for jumping into a pool with a recruit following his pledge to the Ducks, only for him to decommit earlier this week. USC is firmly ahead of Oregon on the recruiting trail right now. Now, it falls on Lincoln Riley to turn those recruiting wins into victories on the field.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Brandon Pili in focus
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Brandon Pili in focus Brandon Pili comes from a family of athletes The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 91 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we take another fairly recent look back at former USC defensive lineman Brandon Pili. Position: Defensive line Years played at USC: 2017-2022 Career highlights: Pili was USC's first ever football player from the state of Alaska. Between 2017 and 2022-he served as a key backup defensive lineman for the Trojans. His final season at USC was his best statistical one, when he recorded 25 tackles, one sack, and one pass defended. For two years, Pili shared the USC campus with his younger sister, Alissa, who played for the women's basketball team. The younger Pili later transferred to Utah, and currently plays for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. After USC: Pili signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. He made the team, becoming the first Alaskan to play in the league since 2014. He appeared in 12 games for Miami over two seasons, before being waved last November. Pili is currently a member of the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
U.S. Women's Open: Amari Avery contending despite playing with borrowed clubs due to boyfriend's mix-up
Amari Avery set an example for every player who has use to borrowed clubs. (Photo by) Amari Avery played the U.S. Women's Open in Wisconsin on Friday while her clubs were en route from Los Angeles, due to a scary night and a mix-up the next morning. According to Golf Channel's Paige Mackenzie, the 20-year-old Avery played the second round at Erin Hills with competitor Gabriela Ruffels' set of clubs after a chaotic 24 hours. The trouble began when someone allegedly attempted to break into her rental home the night after the first round. Advertisement Avery and her boyfriend, USC golfer Gavin Aurilia, responded by quickly packing up their things and running to a hotel. Crucially, Aurilia and Avery, who also played for USC, apparently have the same travel bags, so when Aurilia left to return to Los Angeles the next morning, he accidentally took all of Avery's equipment with him. Ruffels, another fellow Trojan, played her round earlier in the morning and offered Avery her bag. Meanwhile's Aurilia's mother was reportedly en route to Erin Hills with Avery's clubs. Avery reportedly even took the Nike visor off Ruffels' head. Per Golf Channel, Avery and Ruffels use a very similar set of TaylorMade clubs. Ruffels also didn't need her clubs after missing the cut at 7-over in the morning. Advertisement Avery, who shot a 1-under 71 in the first round, didn't miss a beat. When play was suspended due to dangerous weather, she was tied for 19th at 2-under and in contention behind leader Mao Saigo (8-under). Avery is in her second year as a professional after an All-American career at USC. She previously made the cut at the 2023 U.S. Women's Open at 18 years old.
