The Trojans continued their 2025 season with a hard-fought 8-5 win over UConn on Friday. We are at the point in the season where it is no longer just an exciting start, but a dominant 8-1 record for the Trojans.
This is the best start the team has had since it won 12 in a row to start the 2015 season.
It was a chilly night in Irvine when junior Caden Hunter took the mound to make his third start of 2025. In his first two starts he totaled eight and two-thirds innings pitched while only allowing two runs. Unlike in his previous outings, it was a rocky start for Hunter and the Trojans in this one. In the second, the Trojans were unable to turn a seemingly tailor-made double play ground ball up the middle, which kept the inning alive for UConn. A double followed, scoring one, and a passed ball by freshman catcher John Elliot made way for an unearned second run to score.
“Came out for a second inning, obviously it didn’t go the way I planned, ” Hunter said. “After that, [I] kind of locked in throughout the game, started putting in more runs, got a little backup.”
The Trojans responded immediately. Elliott saw a little redemption, launching his first collegiate home run – cutting the Huskie lead in half. Three men were left on in the third however, as the Huskies limited the scoring to just one.
“I was talking to [assistant] Coach [Travis] Jewett before the game, and he was like, ’I feel like you can get one today’,” Elliott said. “I told him I was feeling good, seeing the ball well, and got the pitch to hit and I did.”
The catcher position has been a revolving door for the Trojans, with head coach Andy Stankiewicz commenting on the recent positive play from the freshman from Newport Beach.
“I think that he’s young and he’s learning,” Stankiewicz said of Elliott. “He’s got to get better behind the plate, the passed ball is not what we want. There’s some growth there, for sure, but I think that it’s getting better. Catching every day is not easy to do, so we’ve got two good catchers that will get a lot of time. Johnny’s played well the last couple games, and so we’ll just kind of see how it all plays out. Happy with the way he’s coming.”
An inning later brought deja vu for the Trojans, who led off the fourth with a home run, this time courtesy of junior outfielder Jack Basseer. His first home run as a Trojan tied the game at two. This time however, the scoring didn’t stop for USC. With runners on second and third, Trojan RBI leader junior Ethan Hedges delivered a two-strike, two-out, two-run single, putting a crooked number on the board and giving the Trojans the lead.
Hedges was asked about his role as the team’s go-to RBI guy, a role he has blossomed into.
“I think that I’m a guy that Coach can count on to bring guys in,” Hedges said. “I’m just sticking to my approach and, you know, trusting my training and doing what I always do up there.”
Hunter settled in following the two-run second, shutting out the Huskies in the remainder of his outing. He put up a scoreless third, fourth, fifth and sixth with his 93rd and final pitch sealing a strikeout. Hunter finished the night in dominating fashion, allowing only one baserunner in his last 11 batters faced. Hunter’s strong six innings allowed for a taxed bullpen to get some rest.
“The past two starts, I haven’t been going as deep as I want to in the games, ” Hunter said. “I thought, [to] set the tone to go six innings, kind of make some room for the pitching staff throughout the weekend. I thought that was big.”
Sophomore center fielder Brayden Dowd made a couple spectacular plays, the first of which came in the fourth. With a fly ball drifting away from Dowd, he reached out on the move and made a fine catch, robbing the Huskies of extra bases. In the seventh, Dowd got a late break on a sinking fly ball but recovered in time to make a great sliding catch.
“I thought they did a great job,” Hunter said about the defense. “I mean, it’s baseball. It’s a game of error at the end of the day. You got to get over it, the next pitch, next hitter.”
With the Trojans clinging to a one run lead in the seventh and looking to add some insurance, Hedges stepped in again. This time with a runner at second and the count full, Hedges singled in his third RBI of the game. Two batters later, Hedges stole second with two outs. This led to two more hits by the Trojans with runners in scoring position, extending their lead to 7-3.
In the eighth, the Trojans led off an inning with a home run for the third time in the game. This time it was an inside the park home run from sophomore second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias. The Huskies were able to scratch two in the ninth against freshman long reliever Grant Govel, but eventually fell 8-5.
Five Trojans had multi-hit games, giving USC 13 for the game. Hedges had a particularly notable stat line, going 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs, while adding three steals. Elliott had his first career multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 while also navigating the Trojans’ pitching staff.
“We had a better approach today with two outs, two strikes,” Stankiewicz said. “We had a couple nice base hits to extend the lead. So as part of it, we just talked about putting the ball in play. There’s been a better job tonight of competing, defending the zone and shaping what the game can give us. So we’re getting there. Long ways to go, but it was better.”
USC continues the weekend with a game against No. 14 Vanderbilt on Saturday.