With both USC and UCLA baseball crossing the 30-win mark and the conference standings in the balance, the latest crosstown rivalry matchup carried extra weight.
“It’s a great team, and they’re nationally ranked,” USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz said of UCLA. “Anytime that USC plays UCLA in any sport, it’s gonna bring a little added energy.”
USC junior left-handed pitcher Caden Hunter struggled early, continuing a troubling trend. It marked his third-straight outing allowing four or more earned runs, and once again he failed to make it through four innings. Early runs have plagued USC pitching all year — entering the game, 12 of the Trojans’ 14 losses featured opponents scoring within the first two innings.
UCLA followed that script on Friday. A run in the first, then a solo home run in the second, set the tone. The biggest blow came in the fourth inning, when sophomore first baseman Mulivai Levu laced a three-run double to break things open and put USC in a major hole.
True to form, USC — which has 15 comeback wins this season — mounted one more charge. Down 7-6 in the ninth, the Trojans loaded the bases with two outs, but were unable to complete the comeback.
USC looked to snap a four-game losing streak to UCLA in the second game of the series. The Trojans turned to their big-game pitcher, senior right-hander Caden Aoki, to get the job done.
“He was fantastic,” Stankiewicz said of Aoki. “That’s two premier starts in a row. You need that down the stretch.”
Aoki is no stranger to the Bruins. Saturday’s game marked the third straight season he faced UCLA, and his track record spoke for itself — 12.1 innings pitched and just two runs allowed across the previous two years. He delivered again, carving through the Bruins’ lineup with seven shutout innings, scattering four hits and walking just one.
“You know, maybe you could say you focus a little bit harder, but I wouldn’t want to say that either,” Aoki said. “I don’t know—something about UCLA, you really want to perform.”
The Trojans’ offense gave him early support. Sophomore left fielder Andrew Lamb got things started with a solo home run, and freshman utilityman Augie Lopez — back in the lineup after sitting out game one — added a pair of doubles and drove in two runs.
“To his credit, he’s been working, waiting for his shot and he sure has taken advantage of it,” Stankiewicz said of Lopez.
USC built a 7-0 lead and was on the verge of shutting out UCLA for the first time since 2016.
However, sophomore right-handed pitcher Brodie Purcell surrendered a season high five runs in the later innings. Purcell had given up just three runs the whole season before Saturday.
Now in a save situation, USC turned to junior righty Ethan Hedges to close things out. Hedges hadn’t recorded a save in nearly a month, but he got the job done, locking down the win and evening the series at one game apiece.
In the decisive third game of the series, USC again found itself battling from behind. UCLA jumped ahead quickly, with a three-run home run in the first inning. Sophomore left-hander Mason Edwards, pitching for the first time since March 21 and on a strict pitch count, managed only one out before exiting the game.
“We knew that Mason wasn’t going to be able to give us too many, and so we needed [freshman right-hander Andrew Johnson] to pitch today,” Stankiewicz said. “The fact that Aoki did such a good job yesterday allowed us to hold him back and get ready for today.”
Johnson entered in relief for USC and delivered a brilliant performance, pitching 6.1 innings without allowing an earned run.
In front of more than 2,800 spectators, Johnson left the mound in the seventh inning to a raucous ovation from the predominantly USC crowd.
“Seeing Great Park jump like this is really awesome,” Aoki said. “Obviously, it feels a little bit different.”
Back-to-back home runs by the Trojans, including Lamb’s second homer of the series, tied the game at three. Later, in a pivotal fifth-inning moment with a runner on second and two outs, Lamb initially threw his bat thinking he had walked, only to face a delayed strike call that made it a full count. Ironically, the controversial strike call hurt UCLA, as Lamb responded by doubling to left, giving USC the 4-3 lead.
Lopez outdid his game two performance, delivering a clutch, bases-clearing double to right field, breaking open the game at 7-3 in USC’s favor. The crucial hit came with two outs after a controversial foul ball ruling extended the inning.
“[Stankiewicz] just said it best. We’ve got a lot of fight, and we’re not going to go down easy,” Lopez said. “We took a big hit on Friday, and we came back and punched them in the face twice.”
Lopez, whose first career collegiate hit came against UCLA on March 2, has reveled in the rivalry between these two teams.
“It’s good competition. They’re a great team, good program,” Lopez said. “But I think we showed we’re better. My mom went there, so this has been building for a while. This is a big rivalry, and that’s what you’re gonna get when you have two big programs like this playing against each other.”
Lopez later provided the decisive blow with a solo opposite-field home run — his second collegiate homer — to end any chance of a comeback and cement an 11-5 USC victory.
Lopez, a catcher by trade, spoke about the challenges associated with DHing at the college level.
“A lot of people think that DH is like a dream job, and it is pretty fun—and I’m not saying I don’t like it—but it’s a lot easier to flush bad at-bats when you go out on defense and you have something to focus on,” Lopez said. “But I think I’ve done a pretty good job of taking pride in what I’ve been given and riding it.”
Strategically, USC’s pitching focused heavily on containing UCLA’s top two hitters, sophomore outfielder Dean West and sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky. The Trojans remembered Cholowsky’s two-home-run performance from their March 2 encounter. USC pitchers held the two hitters in check to a combined 6-for-27 in the series.
“They are a really good offense, and when you can silence their top two hitters, you’re gonna make them play worse than they actually are,” Aoki said.
For the first time this season, USC is now ranked following the upset series victory. This crucial series win over UCLA positions the Trojans well for their first tournament appearance since 2015.
Lopez also spoke about the opportunity to compete in what potentially could be his first taste of postseason baseball.
“I think we’re making a statement this year, and we are going to keep playing until they make us stop,” Lopez said. “Whenever we get the chance to play in a postseason game, we’re going to take that opportunity and do what we’ve been doing all year—continue to win games.”
USC must keep its foot on the pedal beginning with an upcoming series against Michigan State this weekend.