It’s a tragedy that this game was only available on the Big Ten Plus streaming service. This game was epic, baseball at its finest, featuring some of the best talent in the sport. It was anybody’s game from the first pitch to the last. Friday night demonstrated UCLA’s overwhelming power, while last night’s 9-8 loss showcased USC’s resilience, however insufficient it ultimately was. It was a game that deserved a national broadcast.
“We were fighting ourselves a little bit,” head coach Andy Stankiewicz said after the game.
The Trojans came into Saturday’s game eager to redeem themselves following Friday’s blowout loss. The lineup relied on an aggressive hit-and-run strategy early on, putting pressure on the Bruins in the field. It worked.
“I think the guys did a nice job of regrouping,” Stankiewicz said. “You’ve got to have a short memory…learn from the past, but don’t dwell on it and move forward.”
Three singles from junior second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias, junior first baseman Adrian Lopez, and junior center fielder Kevin Takeuchi, and a stolen base from Covarrubias resulted in an early 1-0 lead for the Trojans. However, the strategy backfired in the second inning when junior left fielder Dean Carpentier was caught stealing to prematurely end the inning.
The Bruins immediately attacked the Trojans’ starter, sophomore right-handed pitcher Grant Govel, in the second. Junior third baseman Roman Martin, redshirt junior right fielder Payton Brennan and junior center fielder Will Gasparino hit back-to-back-to-back singles to open the inning. Quickly, the batters who followed exploited holes in the Trojans’ defensive configuration, scoring all three runners on a combo of singles, doubles and sacrifice flies. Eight men came to bat that inning to take the lead, 3-1.
“[Govel] left some balls up over the plate…They’re a good hitting team, they’re going to get a good swing off, and they did,” Stankiewicz said. This outing was part of a larger downward trend for Grovel. Each of his last four starts have seen an increase in hits and runs allowed, and a decrease in strikeouts. He has also surrendered a home run in each of his last three outings.
The entire Trojans lineup came to the plate in the top of the third. Covarrubias, junior right fielder Andrew Lamb, sophomore designated hitter Augie Lopez, and Takeuchi combined to drive in two runs on three hits, knocking UCLA’s starter, senior right-hander Michael Barnett, out of the game after just 3.1 innings of work. Left-handed redshirt senior Ian May entered the game, only to face USC junior catcher Isaac Cadena, sophomore third baseman Maximo Martinez, and Carpentier, giving up an RBI single to Cadena to make the game 4-3. Junior RHP Justin Lee then allowed Carpentier to score on a wild pitch, giving the Trojans a 5-3 lead.
Brennan hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third, narrowing UCLA’s deficit, but neither team could score in the fourth. USC scored two more runs in the fifth to take a 7-4 lead.
With a three-run lead, perhaps Stankiewicz felt comfortable pulling Govel. Perhaps he had no choice, as the righty had surrendered 93 pitches, eight hits, four runs and three strikeouts over five innings of work. Freshman RHP Diego Velazquez took over pitching duties in the sixth. Unfortunately, this was when the wheels began to come off the wagon.
“They do a really good job of piling on runs,” Stankiewicz said.
Junior shortstop and presumptive first overall MLB draft pick Roch Cholowsky grounded out, moving junior left fielder Dean West to second and scoring freshman designated hitter Dominic Cadiz to make the game 7-5. Junior first baseman Mulivai Levu drove West in with an RBI triple. Martin walked, then scored with Levu on a single from Brennan. Suddenly, UCLA was winning, 8-7.
At this point, the crowd at Jackie Robinson Stadium was on its feet, cheers echoing throughout the stadium. The Bruin faithful remained engaged and excitable, while the cluster of USC fans who made the trek to Westwood were vocal at times as well. As the teams on the field traded runs and strikeouts, the fans in the stands traded verbal jabs and trash talk.
After a sleepy seventh inning, USC’s offense did what it has done well all season: manufactured pressure. Covarrubias and redshirt freshman right fielder Will Stickney reached base on a pair of walks, then advanced on a wild pitch. USC tied the game at 8-8 when Stickney scored on a fielder’s choice hit by Lamb, and the Trojans in the crowd did not hesitate to make their presence known.
Redshirt junior closer Adam Troy came on in the eighth, giving up a double to Levu with just one out. Levu reached third on a groundout by Martin, and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch from Troy. Sophomore RHP Easton Hawk came in to shut the door for the Bruins.
Since their 19-game winning streak ended over two weeks ago, the Trojans have an 8-5 record. During that winning streak, USC scored 130 runs, and allowed just 36 runs to score. In the 13 games since, USC has scored 92 runs, but allowed 74. The Trojans have also committed ten errors in their last six games.
“It’s about pride now,” Stankiewicz said about Sunday’s finale. “They’ll come out here tomorrow with a little fire in the belly.”
USC will try to avoid being swept by UCLA today at 4 p.m.