What a difference a year makes.
The Trojans have started the 2025 campaign on a high note, going 3-0 in a sweep of George Washington University. For reference, the 2024 Trojans started the season with five straight losses and didn’t win their third game until March 5.
USC fans got to see their new offseason acquisition make his Trojan debut: the 6-foot-2 southpaw from Granite Bay, junior Caden Hunter, started fast, striking out the side in the first.
“We brought him over for this reason,” head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. “He’s the son of a long-time coach. He gets baseball, understands baseball, so we’re certainly excited we got him.”
On offense, the Trojans got off on the right foot in their first game, scoring 10 runs in the first inning and never looking back as they dominated GWU 15-2.
“I don’t think anyone on our team or in the country was really expecting us to come out and score 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, but that was really awesome to do that,” USC sophomore outfielder Brayden Dowd said.
The Trojans sent 14 men to the plate in the first, with sophomore outfielder standout Kevin Takeuchi going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Junior infielder Ethan Hedges also knocked in two with a double. All the damage was done with two outs, as the Trojans recorded nine straight hits.
USC added five more runs across the rest of the game, putting up two in the third, and one each in the fourth, fifth and eighth frames. Takeuchi finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs as the catalyst for the Trojan offense.
“My job as a leadoff hitter is just to kind of see pitches for the guys, let everybody understand what [the pitcher has] got and get on base,” Takeuchi said. “Getting on base is kind of just my job, and that’s what I’m trying to embrace as I move forward.”
Hedges himself had four hits, contributing three RBIs and falling a home run short of the cycle. Hunter got a lot of run support and ended up going 4.1 innings of one-run baseball, earning his first win as a Trojan.
“Hedges got a lot of at-bats under his belt freshman year, last year, so I think it’s more of just an experience factor,” Stankiewicz said. “[Both Takeuchi and Hedges] have just kind of been around it and have had a lot of at-bats, and so we feel good about their development.”
The Trojans scored the most runs in a season opener since they put 22 on the board against Coppin State in their 2017 opener.
Game two proved to be a closer battle. USC once again struck first, putting up a four-spot in the first inning. Just like in game one, it was Takeuchi getting things started for the Trojans. Two walks later, in stepped sophomore infielder and first-year Trojan Adrian Lopez, who promptly launched a grand slam. This was the first grand slam in Stankiewicz’s three-year tenure and USC’s first since Tyler Lozano back in 2022.
“Lopez was young, but he’s transferred from Long Beach State as a local kid, so we like his bat and size and strength,” Stankiewicz said. “To bring those guys in has certainly boosted our lineup.”
This time however, the Revolutionaries struck right back, getting two in their half of the second. In the third, USC got back on the scoreboard with another long ball, this time courtesy of graduate outfielder Kade Higgins.
George Washington answered the call again, with a home run off the bat of graduate outfielder Ellis Schwartz. Hedges gave USC its third long ball of the game, extending the lead. The Revolutionaires scrapped a couple more in the top of the eighth, cutting the Trojan lead to just a single run heading into the ninth. A 1-2-3 ninth from Hedges, who doubles as a pitcher for USC, secured the series for the Trojans and gave Hedges the save.
“Hedges [is] obviously starting to throw some innings out of the bullpen for us. So it’s a big positive. Stankiewicz said. “Obviously, [he] is a great bat, had a great summer, so he was ready sophomore year to come right in here and start putting some really good bats together.”
Looking for the sweep of the three-game series had USC in a position it had not faced in the first two contests. Fast forward to the fourth, the Revolutionaries opened up the scoring for the first time in the series, notching five runs and knocking sophomore pitcher and new Trojan Jackson Baker out of the game.
“We know that [Baker’s] got a great future with us, so we just got to help him get through today,” Stankiewicz said after Sunday’s win. “This is his first start, so he’s gonna be fine.”
It was a sloppy inning overall for the Trojans, who hit two batters, walked two and had two errors. It was their turn to show their resolve, down five.
USC answered the call and scored three runs in its half of the fourth. A couple of innings later with the score now 5-4 Revolutionaries, Dowd launched a three-run home run over the right field fence, giving the Trojans the lead. They never relinquished it.
“Me and [assistant coach Travis] Jewett had a plan, I’m just gonna wait ‘til I get a slider,” Dowd said. “First pitch was a slider, but it was a ball, and nothing I could really handle. The second pitch was a fastball, and that wasn’t really what I was looking for. So just sticking to my plan. And then finally got the slider that I could hit and was able to put a good swing.”
It was Dowd’s second career home run with the Trojans, and it could be the first of many for the sophomore from Michigan.
“I think me and Coach Jewett and Coach Stankiewicz understand that there is some power in me, and untapped potential there, for sure,” Dowd said. “I think I can tap into that a little bit more. But I think mainly it’s just sticking to my approach, which is just hit line drives all over the place. I think that’s what I do well, is just hit line drives, get on base, and the power will come.”
Another ninth-inning call by Stankiewicz to Hedges proved to be the right one, as the sophomore earned his second save in as many days.
The Trojans gave up all five of their runs in one inning, showcasing the effectiveness of the ‘pen. Stankiewicz’s young, energetic bullpen helped close the door on this one, with sophomore Garren Rizzo earning the win in relief. Freshman Tee Southisene pitched a scoreless seventh and sophomore Brodie Purcell struck out the side after the first two batters reached, sending it to Hedges for the ninth.
“It’ll be fun to enjoy the sweep with the boys, but you know we’re trying to move forward,” Takeuchi said. “We got big plans during this season, so we’re just gonna get right back to it, get to work and get ready for Irvine and Bakersfield this week.
The Trojans look to continue the momentum into the week ahead, as they are set to travel and face UC Irvine on Tuesday.