No amount of rain was going to stop No. 12 USC (27-3) from earning its revenge against UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday evening. After dropping both of their matchups last season to the Gauchos, the Trojans bounced back, overcoming an early deficit to secure a 7-6 victory at Dedeaux Field.
USC started from behind. Their starting pitcher, junior RHP Garren Rizzo, could not survive the opening frame as UCSB jumped on him for three early runs. Junior center fielder Colin Beazizo put the Gauchos on the board first with an RBI single, before junior third baseman Xavier Esquer smashed a two-run RBI double later in the inning.
Down 4-0 after two-and-a-half innings, the Trojan lineup got to work. Junior second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias smacked his second triple of the year to the gap in right-center, scoring both sophomore shortstop Maddox Riske and junior catcher Isaac Cadena. Sophomore third baseman Maximo Martinez brought Covarrubias home on a groundout, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
USC tied the game an inning later on junior first baseman Adrian Lopez’s fourth home run of the season. His blast would serve as the knockout blow to the Gauchos’ starter, freshman RHP Josh Jannicelli.
With sophomore LHP Van Froling on in relief, the Trojans tacked on two more runs after a wild pitch, and an RBI groundout from Cadena that scored junior center fielder Kevin Takeuchi.
Dean Carpentier, a junior left fielder, gave the squad a cushion in the sixth, scoring Takeuchi on a single up the middle, extending the lead to 7-5 after the Gauchos had earned a run back during the top half of the inning. Junior catcher Nico Libed brought home Esquer on a groundout to shortstop.
While the lineup had the power necessary to rally, sophomore RHP Chase Herrell’s poise was the key catalyst, providing much-needed stability on the mound after Rizzo’s shaky start. Herrell worked for 5.1 innings and conceded just two runs on three hits. It was the second-longest outing of the season for the first-time Trojan, who ultimately went down as the winning pitcher in the contest.
Sophomore LHP Ben Cushnie, graduate RHP Henry Chabot and junior RHP Adam Troy worked effectively behind Herrell to get USC across the finish line. Chabot, forced to work out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the seventh, induced a clutch inning-ending groundout from Gaucho’s graduate right fielder Noah Karliner to escape.
The trio combined for 2.2 innings of work total, with Troy earning the final four outs of the night for USC. Troy allowed USCB to cut the lead to 7-6 in the ninth, after a double from sophomore left fielder Rowan Kelly and an RBI sac fly from Beazizo put the pressure on. However, Troy remained composed and retired the final two batters to get the Trojans back into the win column for the third time in the last week.
Now, USC awaits its biggest test of the season thus far: a three-game series against its arch-rival, the No. 1 UCLA Bruins (26-2, 12-0 Big Ten) in Westwood. Having stacked 20 consecutive victories, the Bruins will certainly bring their best against a Trojan squad that aspires to make a statement across town.
First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m.