No. 18 USC overpowered Nevada 8-0 in Thursday night’s game at Dedeaux Field. An early barrage of home runs gave junior left-handed pitcher Mason Edwards great breathing room. Now 30-1 at Dedeaux Field, these Trojans love to play at home.
It was a chilly, Southern California evening, but the Trojans didn’t mind; they were riding the momentum from sweeping Rutgers, and beating Cal State Fullerton, this past week. Nevada entered the matchup after losing seven of their last nine games, where offense and pitching could never see eye to eye. USC pounced early.
Edwards delivered one of his strongest games of the season, pitching six scoreless innings, striking out 10 batters, only surrendering four hits and a walk.
USC’s offense wasted no time getting in the zone. On the third pitch of the first inning, junior infielder Adrian Lopez launched a solo home run, giving USC an early 1-0 lead, his ninth of the season. Later in the inning, sophomore infielder Jack Basseer crushed a two-run home run and junior outfielder Andrew Lamb followed with a solo shot to make it a 4-0 game. Lamb’s home run, his ninth of the year, tied him with Adrian Lopez for the second-most home runs on the team.
After adding another run in the second inning, the Trojans applied more pressure in the third. The Trojans plated three more runs before freshman outfielder Walter Urbon launched a two-run homer into right field, the first home run of his collegiate career. As the ball cleared the wall, the dugout erupted into cheers. Urbon rounded the bases with a grin on his face. The play gave the Trojans an 8-0 lead and kept the energy high on an already electric night at Dedeaux.
What started as a game of explosions soon turned into a quiet stretch of innings for USC’s offensive. Before the eighth inning, the Trojans had six walks and no hits.
“We were relentless early and then not so late,” coach Andy Stankiewicz said. “That’s part of what we’ve got to keep driving. Greed is not good, but in baseball and in at-bats, it’s good. Be greedy.”
Luckily for the Trojans, their defense and pitching staff never let up. After making a pitching change in the seventh with right-handed graduate student Henry Chabot, the Trojans’ bullpen got themselves into a bases-loaded jam with no outs. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Cushnie stayed composed through two scoreless innings, with freshman right-handed pitcher Rohan Kasanagottu sealing the deal at the top of the ninth, securing a win for the Trojans.
“I’m most proud of our growth, development and maturity,” coach Andy Stankiewicz said. “It’s getting to the point where every inning matters. You’ve got to limit scoring and just play baseball.”
USC looks to continue the series against Nevada, Friday night at 7pm at Dedeaux Field, and Saturday at 1pm.