Baseball to make trip to the Northwest

The baseball team makes its second trek in two weeks to the Pacific Northwest on Friday, as they take on Washington State in a three-game set in Pullman. USC is currently 16-19 overall on the season, but its record in Pac-12 play sits at 5-7 after the team was swept by Oregon last weekend.

The Trojans crushed 5 home runs, snapping a four-game skid with an 8-3 victory over Long Beach State on Tuesday. Sophomore Adalberto Carrillo hit his sixth and seventh dingers of the season in a 2-homer effort, junior Corey Dempster and senior David Oppenheim went back-to-back in the third, and junior Jeremy Martinez blasted a pitch over the wall in a straightaway center in the fifth. The 5 home runs were the most USC has hit in one game since 1997.

Sophomore Mitch Hart made his fourth start of the season on the mound for the Trojans, and the righty logged a perfect inning before being lifted for freshman CJ Stubbs. Stubbs, freshman Marrick Crouse, senior Marc Huberman and junior Jeff Paschke combined to hold Long Beach State to 3 runs and seven hits over the remaining eight innings and seal a much-needed win.

USC entered the year with high expectations following a strong regular season in 2015 and after putting up a tough fight in the postseason against eventual national champions Virginia. The 2016 season may not be going quite so swimmingly, but despite the disappointing current overall record, the Trojans know: Make the NCAA Tournament, and anything could happen from there.

“Once we get in [to the tournament], we don’t think there’s going to be anyone who can stop us,” Carrillo said. “We just have to find a way to get in and just keep on winning.”

Head coach Dan Hubbs agreed with his third baseman, pointing out that Virginia squeaked into tournament last year before going on to win the College World Series.

“Two weeks before the regionals, it didn’t look like [Virginia was] going to get in … and they won the whole thing,” Hubbs said. “This team has that kind of talent. It’s just a matter of putting it together, getting healthy, and playing well enough at the right time.”

USC is eighth in the Pac-12, three games behind leaders Utah, who the Trojans took two of three against two weekends ago. The team looks to get its season back on track with a good showing against the cellar-dweller Cougars, who lie at the bottom of the conference standings. Washington State won its first Pac-12 series of the season last weekend in an impressive set against No. 14 Oregon State, and the Cougars will shoot for two in a row against USC.

As he has preached throughout the season, Hubbs said as long as his players believe in their ability and don’t press at the plate, on the mound, or in the field, they will get results.

“We just have to continue to stay within ourselves,” he said. “Offensively, we can score off of anyone … and on the pitching side, it’s just been inconsistency. If we shore that up, then I think we’ll be fine.”

First pitch at Bailey-Brayton Field is slated for 5 p.m. on Friday. After their long road trip to Pullman, the Trojans will enjoy a long stay in Los Angeles, as they begin a seven-game home stand next Tuesday against UC Irvine. USC then welcomes Arizona and Washington to Dedeaux Field on back-to-back weekends before taking on UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium in a three-game series the following week.