The fourth-seeded USC Trojans (43-15; 20-10) were eliminated from the Big Ten tournament by first-seeded UCLA (51-6; 28-2) on Saturday, May 23, in a heartbreaking 7-5 loss. It was the first time the two teams had met in the Big Ten baseball tournament since both schools joined the Big Ten in 2024.
The game resembled a tug of war. USC took an early 3-0 lead in the third that UCLA chipped away at, run by run, until junior left fielder Dean West gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead in the seventh with a two-run home run to right.
Not to be outdone, the Trojans fought on. Junior first baseman Adrian Lopez singled. Sophomore designated hitter Augie Lopez hit a ball to junior second baseman Phoenix Call, who misplayed it. Junior third baseman Kevin Takeuchi squared up to bunt before a wild pitch allowed both runners to advance. He then proceeded to walk, loading the bases with no outs.
Junior catcher Isaac Cadena grounded into a fielder’s choice, allowing Adrian Lopez to score, tying the game. Senior right fielder Jack Baseer hit the ball hard into the right-center gap, where junior center fielder Will Gasparino made the catch, allowing Augie Lopez to tag and score, putting USC ahead 5-4.
In the bottom of the ninth, redshirt junior closer Adam Troy returned for his second full inning of work. Redshirt sophomore DH Aidan Espinoza hit a groundball to junior second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias who struggled to get his bearings before making an errant throw. Call then executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runner into scoring position.
West followed his home run with a walk, bringing Roch Cholowsky to the plate. Cholowsky popped up to Adrian Lopez for the second out. Junior first baseman Mulivai Levu, who has a .369 batting average with runners in scoring position, stepped into the batter’s box. He then sent the very first pitch he saw into the right field seats, a walk-off three-run home run to end a storybook game between two iconic rivals.
UCLA went on to win the Big Ten tournament, defeating third-seeded Oregon (40-16; 20-10). All games in the Big Ten tournament were played at the Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
USC’s season is not over yet, either. The Trojans were selected for the NCAA college baseball tournament. They will participate in the first round, Regionals, from Friday, May 29 to Monday Jun. 1. Regionals are held across sixteen sites all over the United States. Each site hosts four teams. USC was selected to the College Station Regional, hosted by No. 12 Texas A&M (39-14).
Texas A&M will play Lamar University (34-25) on May 29 at 1 pm PT. The Trojans will first play Texas State (36-24) at 6 pm PT later that day. The winners of each matchup will then face off on May 30 at 6 pm PT.