USC returns to the diamond with postseason aspirations

The Trojans return to Dedeaux Field this weekend to kick off a promising season with one of the most experienced and skilled teams in recent years, consisting of 19 upperclassmen and seven returning starters.

USC hopes to continue the positive trend set last season, in which they narrowly missed the NCAA Regionals and finished with a 29-24 record, the first time the team had finished with a winning record since 2005.

Though the Trojans still boast many of their key players from last season, the team lost four players who were instrumental to the team’s success: pitcher Wyatt Strahan, pitcher Bob Wheatley, infielder Kevin Swick and catcher Jake Hernandez.

Despite the absence of these impact players, head coach Dan Hubbs, now entering his third year, believes the remaining players’ flexibility in skill and position will allow for those holes in the lineup to be easily filled.

“We have some great players, especially on our staff, who are ready to move from bullpen pitchers and step up to fill in the roles of Strahan and Wheatley,” Hubbs said. “We’re confident that with the guys we’ve got stepping into the roles of catcher and other infield positions that the new guys will be just as good as their predecessors, if not better.”

To further help assimilate the Trojans into their new roles, many of the players have spent the off-season bonding as a team, discussing fixable problems from last season and seeking advice from their teammates as they transition into new positions or roles within the lineup.

Junior pitcher Kyle Twomey, who recorded an ERA of 3.11 in 55 innings pitched during the 2014 season, explained how the Trojans have assisted one another throughout the preseason.

“It’s really important that we as a team help one another and give good advice so we’re ready and good to go for the first couple series of the season,” Twomey said. “For example, I was in the bullpen last year, so [junior pitcher] Marc Hubberman talked to me about the seventh and eighth inning role I had last year. That type of communication is really key to getting guys comfortable with what it’s going to be like this weekend when the lights come on and it starts to count.”

Hubbs believes the team’s hard work in the preseason will help ensure more consistency and improvement from the 2015 season.

“I think the kids came back in the fall with the mindset that they weren’t gonna let anything come up to circumstance or chance or leave it to the hands of the committee to decided whether we go to the playoffs,” Hubbs said. “I think we’ve seen in practice much more intensity in terms of getting things done and making sure we’re ready to win games in a bunch of different ways.”

Senior catcher Garrett Stubbs, junior pitchers Kyle Davis and Twomey and sophomore catcher Jeremy Martinez highlight the 2015 squad.

Nine freshmen also join the team this season, along with two impact junior college transfers in pitcher Tyler Gilbert and outfielder David Oppenheim.

Sizing up the 2015 Trojans in terms of skill and ability, Twomey predicts that pitching will be the team’s greatest strength.

“As of right now, we have five guys who can fill a starting role and we’re also going to be pretty strong at the back end of the game relieving wise because there are a couple of guys who are really ready to fill those roles of coming in late and closing games out right,” Twomey said.

Hubbs thinks that while pitching and defense up the middle of the field will likely be the team’s greatest strengths, the offensive game will see a great deal of  improvement from last year.

“I really believe we’re going to see a lot more home runs and doubles with this team,” Hubbs said. “I think we have more team speed offensively, which we didn’t have last year.  We should be able to score more runs and run the bases more aggressively, as opposed to last year when we primarily just had to rely on the big hit.”

The Trojans open the 2015 season tonight at Dedeaux Field against the Towson Tigers who were 22-25 overall in 2014, but 6-17 on the road.

The team is led by head coach Mike Gottlieb and senior shortstop Peter Bowles. This will be the first meeting in series history between the Trojans and the Tigers.

Looking forward, the Trojans begin the season with  non-Pac- 12 match ups with Cal State Fullerton, Kentucky and Oakland next week.

Overall the schedule consists of 24 out of 56 games against 11 different teams that made the 2014 NCAA postseason.

Additionally, this year’s schedule includes games against three teams that made the 2014 College World Series, and a nonconference series against 2014 regional team Cal Poly.

Despite this season’s difficult schedule, the Trojans feel confident that as long as they execute appropriately, they should start off the season on a high note.

“I think especially just the first couple of weeks its important to just play fundamental baseball and keep it clean cut and continue what we’ve been trying to do all fall and spring,” Twomey said. “I think once we get that down well be able to excel as the season moves forward.”