After dropping a tough game to No. 19 UC Irvine (20-5, 10-1) this past Tuesday, USC baseball (16-11, 6-6) bounced back with a series win on the road against Indiana (15-13, 6-6) this weekend. The Trojan offense combined for 29 runs over their three-game series, helping propel them to victory.
USC faced an early deficit in all three games this weekend, but was able to pull off two comeback wins with grit and perseverance at the plate.
“It’s a crazy game. [I] just tell the guys, keep on pushing, keep grinding, put yourself in a good spot to get back in it,” third-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz said.
USC opened up its road trip in Bloomington with a doubleheader on Friday, where they took the first game 10-5 and lost the second game 13-6.
In game one, the Trojans trailed the Hoosiers by as many as three runs before coming back to win the game. The Trojans’ offense was sparked by back-to-back-to-back home runs on three consecutive pitches by sophomore outfielder Brayden Dowd, sophomore infielder Adrian Lopez and junior outfielder Jack Basseer. Junior infielder Ethan Hedges also hit a solo home run, bringing his season total to seven home runs, which he would later continue to increase.
On the bump, junior southpaw Caden Hunter (5-1) started game one of the series, throwing six innings and picking up the win. After giving up a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, Hunter eventually settled in and allowed only two runs the rest of the game.
“We know the pitchers are gonna have our back even when it gets shaky, and we just play together, rely on each other, and lean on each other,” Dowd said. “It’s so much fun to have a group like that that all loves to play together.”
In game two, the Hoosiers struck first yet again, scoring six runs in the second inning. Senior pitcher Caden Aoki took the mound for the Trojans and struggled mightily, allowing nine earned runs in four innings pitched. Unlike game one, the Trojans were unable to mount a comeback from such a large deficit.
In the final game of the series, USC scored 10 unanswered runs to beat Indiana 13-12. In a high-scoring affair, the Trojans were able to comeback from a nine-run deficit, marking the largest comeback for USC since April 22, 2003, when the Trojans erased a 10-run gap against UC Santa Barbara.
After trailing Indiana for the whole game, Dowd hit a go-ahead two-run shot down the right field line to put the Trojans ahead in the top of the ninth inning.
“I wasn’t trying to do too much, just trying to hit a line drive back up the middle. But 2-2 pitch and [he] left something middle in — I was able to turn on it and put a good swing on it which was a really cool moment to have,” Dowd said.In the bottom of the ninth, Hedges entered the game to record his seventh save of the season, inducing two groundouts and a pop-up.
An integral part of USC’s series win this weekend was junior infielder Ethan Hedges who went a combined 9-for-13 with four home runs, nine RBIs and a save. Hedges has been the Trojans’ most valuable player so far this season, slashing .413/.508/.817 from the dish and recording an impressive seven saves.
“He’s really [a] complete person and player. So just proud of him, excited for him, because he’s really worked hard to become a better baseball player,” Stankiewicz said.
USC has now won three straight weekend series in a row against Michigan, Nebraska and Indiana. The Trojans will travel back home to face San Diego State on Tuesday and Ohio State in a three-game series this weekend at Great Park in Irvine.