USC baseball goes winless in series against Auburn

Before a single pitch was thrown in this weekend’s three-game series, USC baseball was faced with adversity. Its series against the Auburn Tigers, which had originally been scheduled to be played in Los Angeles, would be moved over 2,000 miles east to Auburn. Suddenly facing their first road series of the year, the Trojans were unable to earn a win, dropping the first two games of the series and tying the third.

On Friday night, USC’s red-hot offense cooled down mightily. The Trojans had been averaging 11 runs per game in their first four outings, but only mustered 3 in a 5-3 defeat.

USC’s six through nine hitters had a combined .555 batting average, with 3 extra base hits and 3 RBI’s, but the one through five hitters hit just .136. Additionally, the Trojans had just 1 hit in 9 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

One crucial missed opportunity occurred in the top of the third inning with the game scoreless. Against sophomore right-handed pitcher Chase Allsup, USC loaded the bases with nobody out, and brought its two, three and four hitters to bat.

However, dreams of a big offensive inning faded away quickly when junior left fielder Carson Wells chased a pitch out of the zone to strike out, junior second baseman Ryan Jackson fouled out and senior first baseman Nick Lopez flew out on 3 straight at-bats.

After the Trojans scratched the game’s first run one inning later, Auburn’s offense came alive in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of 2-run hits from junior shortstop Cole Foster and redshirt senior left fielder Bobby Pierce gave Auburn a 4-1 lead.

Junior pitcher Tyler Stromsborg’s 2 walks and 1 hit batsman set the table for the Tigers’ biggest inning, but the right-hander delivered a strong start outside of that. Stromsborg gave USC 5.2 innings, allowing 7 hits and those 4 runs. Sophomore relievers Josh Blum and Caden Connolly also had solid outings out of the bullpen, combining for 2.1 innings and allowing just 2 hits and 1 run to keep the Trojans in the game.

USC drove in a run in the sixth and eighth innings to get within 2 runs heading into the ninth. Facing sophomore right hander Will Cannon, the Trojans had runners on first and third with the tying run on base, but redshirt freshman designated hitter Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek grounded to short to make the game’s final out.

On Saturday afternoon, Auburn clinched the series with a 12-6 win. Three multi-run innings by Auburn’s offense ensured the game would be out of reach.

Junior starting pitcher Jaden Agassi cruised through his first time facing the Tiger batters. He retired seven of the first nine hitters, and threw a scoreless first three innings. The Trojans were able to build a 3-0 lead, but Agassi hit a wall in the fourth.

Senior third baseman Bryson Ware drove in freshman designated hitter Ike Irish after a leadoff double, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. The extra base allowed Ware to score on a single from redshirt sophomore Cooper McMurray, who then scored on a single by sophomore second baseman Brody Moss after also advancing on a wild pitch.

Ultimately, Agassi would not survive his disastrous fourth inning after such a promising start. Six relievers would then pitch the remainder of the game for USC, but only two could keep the Tigers off the scoreboard.

Sophomore relievers Fisher Johnson and Caden Aoki combined to give up 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth to untie the game. They were not aided by the Trojans’ defense, as 2 of the 5 runs given up were unearned. With runners at first and third, sophomore pinch hitter Mike Bello chopped the ball to Lopez at first, who threw the ball over redshirt freshman shortstop Caden Huber’s head and into center field. The error allowed a run to easily score on the play and set up Auburn’s five-spot.

With the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, Wells hit a bomb to deep center field, but fifth-year center fielder Kason Howell made a leaping catch against the fence to turn an extra-base hit into a sacrifice fly. Senior left fielder Adrian Colon-Rosado then hit a moonshot to deep right that had home run height and distance, but the 37-foot left field wall at Plainsman Park limited the damage to a 2-run double that cut the deficit to 2.

Redshirt senior reliever Toby Spach recorded the first 2 outs of the eighth for USC, but Stankiewicz elected to bring in senior right-hander Kyle Wisch to finish the job. That move did not work out for the Trojans, as Wisch surrendered 2 2-run bombs to Ware and McMurray to balloon the Auburn lead to 6.

Ultimately, the Tigers made USC pay for every baserunner it allowed, hitting a staggering .412 with runners in scoring position in the game.

USC was already guaranteed to lose the series when the final game began on Sunday afternoon, but it did not waste the opportunity to demonstrate its resilience.

Two 2-run homers helped the Trojans jump out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning. That lead would be short lived, however, as Auburn’s offense tattooed redshirt freshman right-hander Eric Hammond for 7 runs in just two innings of work. Senior reliever Ben Sodersten did not fare much better, allowing 5 runs in his two innings pitched following up the starter.

Graduate right fielder Justin Kirby gave USC the most trouble, hitting a 3-run homer in the second and a grand slam in the fourth. Kirby’s power helped the Tigers build leads of 8-4 and 12-8, but USC would not go away quietly in the late innings.

Down 3 runs in the top of the seventh, the Trojans recorded 4 straight base hits with 2 outs and the bases empty. Jackson drove in 2 runs with a pinch-hit single, and freshman center fielder Austin Overn tied the game with an RBI double.

By the time the eighth inning began, time was now a major factor. Because of USC’s travel arrangements returning to L.A., it was agreed on beforehand that no new innings would be played after 3:30 p.m. local time. Yet, the eighth inning went quickly, and the game went to the ninth.

Knowing that this would be the final inning of the game, it was do or die for the Trojan offense. Wells hit a 1-out double, bringing senior catcher Connor Clift to the plate. Clift knocked a base hit down the left field line, driving in Wells and seemingly giving USC a late lead. The USC celebration didn’t last long, though, as the umpire ruled that Wells did not touch home plate when he appeared to score. On an appeal play, Wells was ruled out.

The ninth inning only got stranger when Jackson struck out, but senior catcher Nate LaRue threw the ball away on a wild pitch, keeping the rally alive and putting the go-ahead run 90 feet away. However, Overn flew out the following at-bat, meaning the best the Trojans could do was tie.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers loaded the bases with just 1 out and a chance at a walk-off win, but redshirt senior reliever Garrett Clarke locked in from there. Clarke forced back-to-back fly outs to end the game, which ended in a 12-12 draw. It was the first USC baseball game to end in a tie since 2019.

After the winless series, the Trojans drop to 3-3-1 on the season. They will finish their four-game road trip much closer to home, with a matchup against Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday night.