The Trojans had an opportunity to flip the narrative of their season, and they did just that.
Coming into Tuesday’s game, UC Irvine — enjoying its best start in program history — was 9-1 in its last 10 games. USC stumbled out of the gate with a 3-11 start, but it met the Anteaters with a chance to finally break even at .500.
The Trojans welcomed No. 12-ranked UCI to LMU’s Page Stadium for a non-conference matchup and routed the Anteaters 12-5. The win marks the first time that the Trojans do not have a losing record in 2024. It is a season milestone that comes against one of the best baseball teams in the nation, at a time when the Pac-12 is still up for the taking.
The Anteater lineup features a few of the most distinguished hitters in the nation, and it was no surprise that they threatened early. Junior outfielder Myles Smith started the scoring with an RBI single for UCI, but it was actually the USC bats that made an impression early.
The first seven Trojans reached base in the home half of the opening frame, scoring a statement six runs. Both sophomore catcher Jacob Galloway and freshman designated hitter Kevin Takeuchi put dents in the Blue Monster with doubles, and they were two of five Trojans to drive in at least one run in the inning.
“You always talk about answering back, and that [first inning] was big,” USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. “We put some really good swings together and strung them along really well. Typically, you’re not going to score six runs in an inning versus UC Irvine, but we were able to do that.”
Anteater freshman righty Tim Grack was chased from the game without recording an out, forcing UCI to commit 27 outs to its bullpen for the midweek game. The first inning concluded with USC in the driver’s seat, 6-1.
The Eaters clawed back with a run in the top of the second, but USC senior infielder Ryan Jackson delivered the counterpunch with a line drive two-run home run in the next half inning. Two batters later, sophomore infielder Ethan Hedges hit a solo homer to left-center that boosted USC’s lead to 9-2.
Junior pitcher Fisher Johnson relieved freshman Garren Rizzo in the third inning and delivered three scoreless innings for the Trojans with two strikeouts and one hit allowed.
“The guy that came in and did the job for us was Fisher Johnson,” Stankiewicz said. “We needed someone to get us back on track on the mound, and he was fantastic.”
The Anteaters entered the game with the 15th-best team ERA in Division-I, but that made no difference for the Trojans. In the bottom of the fourth, freshman infielder Dean Carpentier cleared the 37-foot wall in left with a towering two-run home run, extending the Trojan lead to 11-2. Tuesday was just the third time that UCI allowed 10 or more runs in a game this season.
The Trojans added insurance in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of a Hedges RBI double. The infielder had a near-impeccable night, going 3-for-4 — a triple shy of the cycle — with two runs and three RBIs.
UCI threatened in the top of the seventh, scoring one run before loading the bases for junior second baseman Will Bermudez. USC freshman pitcher Andrew Harbour extinguished the rally by inducing an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to keep the score at 12-3.
Anteater junior backstop Blake Penso hit a moonshot homer to straight-away centerfield in the top of the eighth, but the damage was already done with the Trojans still leading 12-4. Two batters later, UCI redshirt freshman third baseman James Castagnola cleared the Blue Monster with another solo shot. Still, worries were low for USC.
Freshman pitcher Brodie Purcell came in to shut the door in the ninth, and he struck out the side to cement the Trojan victory. It took 32 games, but USC moved back to even on the year at 16-16 overall.
“Early in the season, we were disconnected offensively, so I think now we are managing our swings better and managing the strike zone better,” Stankiewicz said. “Better at-bats lead to better opportunities, and that’s what we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks.”
USC will travel to Oregon for a three-game weekend series against the Ducks — the team immediately above the Trojans in the Pac-12 standings.
“It’s going to be a big challenge on the road at Oregon,” Stankiewicz said. “We’ve played pretty good baseball the last couple of weeks, so we feel good about it. Just got to keep it moving.”
The Trojans head up to Eugene’s PK Park this Friday, with first pitch at 5:05 p.m.