Tough stretch finally comes to a close for Trojans

Over the past eight days, Frank Cruz and the USC baseball team played six games, winning three and losing three.

The Trojans lost a doubleheader to Utah on Friday which was the culmination of a three-game losing streak that started Tuesday night, when the Trojans fell to No. 9 UCLA at Dodger Stadium.

On Sunday, the Trojans took the field trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of Utah to open the Pac-12 season.

And the Trojans played one of their most complete games of the season to end spring break on a high note.

The Trojans bested the Utes 10-5 on Sunday in a display of offensive fury. Every Trojan starter had at least one hit, and six delivered multi-hit performances. All told, USC put up 18 in the H column, its best of the season.

The offensive prowess was especially welcomed following the Trojans dismal showing in a doubleheader on Friday. In the first game of the doubleheader, senior pitcher Andrew Triggs went the full nine innings, striking out 11 and walking just one.

But USC was shut out on just three hits as Triggs took a hard-luck loss. In the nightcap, USC jumped out 1-0 in the first inning, but didn’t score again and fell 3-1.

That loss snapped a five-game win streak the Trojans had been on. The last three of those came at the beginning of spring break, when USC played one of their most thrilling series of the season against Cal State Bakersfield.

On Friday and Saturday, the Trojans were down one entering the bottom of the ninth. And both nights, they tied the game and won in walk-off fashion. Friday it was sophomore third baseman Kevin Swick with the game-winning hit; Saturday it was junior second baseman Adam Landecker; on Sunday it was freshman pitcher Stephen Tarpley who was the game’s MVP, going eight shutout innings, with 10 strikeouts and no walks to improve his ERA to 2.28.

The Trojans will travel to Palo Alto on Saturday to take on No. 2 Stanford in a three-game series.