Trojans return home for three games against Utah

The USC baseball team looks to pick up a much-needed series win this weekend against the University of Utah after a heartbreaking loss to No. 24 Pepperdine this past Tuesday. The Trojans, who have struggled to finish strongly in recent games, found themselves unable to hold on to their lead and fell 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Trojans started hot offensively against Pepperdine, and gained an early 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. The first run was an RBI double off the bat of sophomore center fielder Timmy Robinson, allowing for freshman Jeremy Martinez to easily reach home from third base. The second run was scored later that inning thanks to the sacrifice fly delivered by sophomore Blake Lacey, which allowed Robinson to bring in the second run.

USC starter sophomore Brent Wheatley pitched impressively during his five innings of work in which he only gave up five hits. The Waves eventually managed to answer Wheatley’s tough pitching in the fifth inning and tied the score at 2-2. The game’s loss officially belonged to sophomore reliever Kyle Davis, who gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Waves to secure the win.

Despite the result, the Trojans’ performed excellently considering the caliber of Pepperdine’s team, specifically their pitching staff. Pepperdine holds a 25-7 record as well as a 2.24 team ERA so far this season.

Trying to shake off this difficult loss, the Trojans will take on the Utah Utes this weekend at Dedeaux Field. Now halfway through the season, the Trojans hold a 15-16 overall record, a 4-8 conference record and a 10-8 record at home.

Utah (10-19, 1-11) has struggled mightily this season, and currently sits dead last in the Pac-12 standings. Still, like any team conference, the Utes are dangerous. Last weekend the team fell just three runs short of their series win of the season against Arizona.

On the offensive end, the Utes are led by infielder TJ Bennett, who adds 16 RBIs to his team-leading .261 batting average. Utah’s team batting average of .221 ranks among the lowest in the conference. On the mound the team is led by reliever Zach Adams, who has put together a strong 1.89 ERA over 11 appearances. The Utes’ top starter is Mitch Watrous, who leads the team with 43 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. USC’s improving offense should match up well with Utah’s struggling staff, which has accumulated a 4.41 team ERA thus far.

Senior infielder Kevin Swick feels that a week of practice has helped his team’s offense get back on track.

“We’re starting to see a lot more pitches,” Swick said. “We’re taking longer at bats, fouling pitches off, spoiling pitches and eventually getting the result we want. So we’re definitely taking a lot better at bats.”

Though these two teams have yet to meet this season, the Trojans were victorious during their weekend series last April in Salt Lake City. The Trojans went 2-1 for the series after three unusually high scoring games, including two final scores in double digits.

Swick feels that to win the series against Utah, his team needs to come out with the same gameplan it did in last weekend’s road trip to Arizona State.

“It really comes down to what we did against Arizona State [last weekend], that’s hitting the ball low and hard,” he said. “If we can do that, I think the result will take care of itself. As far as pitching is concerned, we just need to get good starts and play good defense … If we can do that we’ll be fine.“

The Trojans will take on the University of Utah tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Dedeaux Field. Saturday’s game will also start at 6:00 p.m.