For USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz, there’s no place like home.
After being swept in last weekend’s series against No. 1 UCLA (32-2, 17-0) in Westwood and falling to UC Santa Barbara (21-11) in Isla Vista, No. 14 USC (29-7, 12-5) clinched its first home series of the season’s second half with a 6-3 win against Iowa (18-14, 5-9) on Saturday.
“I think just coming back out here…and getting a good start to the weekend is just what we needed,” Stankiewicz said after the game.
Saturday’s win followed a 9-2 victory Friday and came in typical Trojan fashion: a strong bullpen and long hitters.
Sophomore starter Grant Govel was hot right out of the gate, striking out two consecutive batters to end the first frame. After exchanging RBIs in the second inning, Govel struck out three of four batters in the third, and concluded the fourth inning with his seventh.
Sophomore designated hitter Augie Lopez opened the next frame by hitting his seventh home run of the season, putting the Trojans up 2-1. Two batters later, junior left fielder Andrew Lamb sent one beyond the right field wall to put another run on the scoreboard. The show went on when Iowa’s junior starter Maddux Frese gave up a double to senior right fielder Jack Basseer, which junior catcher Isaac Cadena subsequently turned into a two-run home run.
USC was able to build momentum as it fed off itself at the plate.
“When you’ve got guys like Augie Lopez and Adrian (Lopez) and Abbrie (Covarrubias) hitting in front of you, it’s really easy to just continue,” said Takeuchi, who finished Saturday .500 at the plate.
USC’s 5-1 lead shrunk to two in the fifth inning when Govel gave up a two-run home run to senior second baseman Gable Mitchell. Govel’s day ended after that inning after accumulating eight strikeouts, three walks and four hits.
While it wasn’t his strongest statistical outing, Stankiewicz seemed unphased. “He just figured out a way to make big pitches and big moments to keep us out in front,” he said.
Three more pitchers followed Govel — freshman Gavin Lauridsen, junior Sax Matson and redshirt junior Adam Troy — combining to hold Iowa to three runs while recording five strikeouts and three walks through 14 batters.
Takeuchi, who put USC on the board in the second inning, later scored the Trojan’s final run after junior third baseman Dean Carpentier’s eighth inning RBI double.
Takeuchi attributed his success this weekend to mental preparation. He said after Saturday’s win that it can be difficult to reset after rough stretches “because you have more time to think about it. Sometimes you just overthink and get in your head.”
Takeuchi hopes to “keep the ball rolling” in the weeks ahead. “(The key) is just keeping the same consistency … continuing to build off of what we had in the start and staying healthy, staying competitive … and keeping the competitive aspect of it rolling.”
USC will compete in three conference series over the next three weeks and must continue its pace for the best odds in the restructured Big Ten Tournament. This year, the top four teams will have a first-round bye while seeds five through 12 will compete in double-elimination matchups to compete with the top seeds. USC is currently seeded third, one win ahead of Purdue, with fifth-seed Oregon several games behind.
The Trojans will return to Dedeaux Field to conclude the three-game series against Iowa on Sunday at 1 p.m.