Baseball takes series from ASU with 31-run game

The baseball team may not have qualified for the College World Series, but the Trojans ended their season in style with a commanding 31-9 win over Arizona State on the road on Sunday.

The win gave the Men of Troy a series win over the Sun Devils to wrap up their 2016 campaign, finishing at .500 (28-28) overall and 15-15 in conference play.

Against ASU starter Eli Lingos on Sunday, USC sprayed hits left, right and center — 30 in total, tied for second most in a game in program history. The 31 runs was also the second-highest single game run total in program history, with the record set in a 1959 game against Occidental when the Trojans scored 35 runs.

The Trojans put runs on the board in all but two innings, with 13 of 14 batters reaching base at least once. They scored a season-high nine runs in the fourth inning and also put up four or more runs in the first, second and eighth innings.

Redshirt sophomore Frankie Rios recorded six RBIs and sophomore Angelo Armenta knocked in five runs, each setting career highs. Rios and senior Timmy Robinson each tallied four hits in the rout.

The win gave the Trojans their first series win at Arizona State since 2004. It followed a 6-2 win on Saturday behind sophomore pitcher Mitch Hart, who allowed two runs on three hits in six innings. Freshman Lars Nootbaar hit his first home run of the year that plated the eventual winning run with a 2-run blast in the fifth inning to put the Trojans ahead 3-2. Three runs in the eighth inning — two of which scored on a triple by junior catcher Jeremy Martinez — gave the Trojans even more separation.

USC dropped the first game of the series on Friday. The Men of Troy had an opportunity to grab the win, but, down by a run, could not score in the ninth despite loading the bases with one out, and the 3-2 deficit held as the final tally.

The Trojans wrap up a season in which they failed to live up to heightened expectations after a deep run in the NCAA Tournament last year, their first appearance in the postseason since 2005.

Senior outfielder David Oppenheim was a bright spot for the Trojans this year, leading not only the team, but also the Pac-12 in batting average. Oppenheim hit .387 with 25 RBIs. Oppenheim complemented that with four home runs, one triple and nine doubles.

Oppenheim also led the conference in on-base percentage, getting on-base exactly half of the time.

Just behind Oppenheim with the third-best batting average in the conference was Martinez who hit .376. Martinez also batted in 42 RBIs. He had six home runs, two triples and 18 doubles. Martinez was also third in the conference in slugging percentage posting a .563.

USC also had a strong team showing of conference leaders in RBIs with three players in the top 10. Robinson is fourth in the conference with 46. He is followed by senior infielder AJ Ramirez who has 44 and Martinez is just behind tied for the eighth spot in the Pac-12.