A crowd of more than 3,500 came to the Great Park on Saturday to see the second game of the three-day Southern California College Baseball Classic. There was a packed crowd to see the battle of two 8-1 teams, with the No. 14-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores coming into town. This was the fourth matchup in the schools’ history, with USC leading the all-time head-to-head series two games to one.
Senior Caden Aoki got the nod for the Trojans, marking his third start of the year. After a rough first game against George Washington on Feb. 15, he rebounded against Rice on Feb. 23, going 5 2/3 innings and allowing only one earned run.
“A lot of people make it a big deal because it’s Vanderbilt,” Aoki said. “And although it is super fun to face opponents like that, I knew I’d be in trouble if I treated it differently than any other game.”
With both starters pitching well, Vanderbilt’s first sign of trouble came in the third. Following a double by sophomore outfielder Brayden Dowd, redshirt junior shortstop Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek doubled Dowd home. Two walks later — both coming on full counts and with only one out in the inning — sophomore first baseman Dean Carpentier gave USC its second run on a sacrifice fly.
The way Aoki was pitching, two runs seemed insurmountable for the Commodores. Aoki followed the two-run third by striking out the side in the bottom half. In the fifth, with the score still 2-0, Aoki found himself in his first sign of trouble. With the bases loaded and only one out, Aoki struck out the next two batters in succession, keeping Vanderbilt off the scoreboard.
“I’ve been in those situations before, so I’m aware of how to handle it,” Aoki said. “In those moments, I need to calm myself down as much as I can and just go and execute pitches.”
USC tacked on one run more in the sixth, aided by another sacrifice fly. The Trojans’ small-ball style contrasted with their recent home run barrage.
“Sometimes that’s what it takes,” head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. “Sometimes you just take the one. That’s what we did. Whatever it takes you got to get it done. I thought with Caden throwing as well as he was throwing, it felt good about taking those ones.”
With the bullpen rested and USC clinging to a three-run lead, USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz decided to ride the hot hand of his senior in the seventh. An error put the leadoff man on first to start the inning. With the three-run lead, Aoki was able to work around it, allowing only one run.
“After I finished the sixth, I had a feeling I was going to go back out for the seventh, and I just knew that was going to be my last inning,” Aoki said. “So, as Coach Allen says, ‘empty the tank,’ and that’s what I did.”
The seventh proved to be Aoki’s last, as he was over the 100-pitch mark, giving way to hard-throwing sophomore Mason Edwards to bring it home. Aoki finished the evening with 10 strikeouts, many of which came on his offspeed pitches, making the Commodores chase outside the zone.
“He’s not going to overwhelm you with velocity, but he knows how to pitch, ” head coach Stankiewicz said. “He’s in and out with his fastballs, change up, breaking ball. He’s just kind of an old school pitcher. I think that you saw tonight against a team that’s obviously pretty offensive, he did a great job.”
Following a clean eighth for Edwards, he came back out for the ninth. After retiring the first two batters quickly, the Commodores’ pinch hitter reached base, putting the tying run at the plate.
The Trojans, not wanting to risk it, put in their dual-threat third baseman and saves leader Ethan Hedges to get the last out. Hedges slammed the door shut, securing a riveting 3-1 win for the Trojans and earning his fourth save of the season.
“They told me that I need to be ready to come from third. And I got some pitches in the bullpen, so I was ready,” Hedges said.
Aoki finished the evening going seven innings with no earned runs. His 10 strikeouts were a career high, surpassing his previous mark of eight. Hedges' fourth save tied him for second in the nation, only behind University of Houston’s Richie Roman, who has six.
USC looks to continue their hot streak as they get ready to face their crosstown rivals UCLA at Jackie Robinson stadium on Sunday.