Trojans head to desert to cool down Wildcats

The No. 10 USC baseball team looks to continue its winning streak this week against the Arizona Wildcats after taking two out of three games against the Washington Huskies last weekend.

The Trojans (22-6, 4-2 Pac-12) traveled to Seattle to face the Huskies (15-12, 2-7 Pac-12) and fought through a few tough games.

USC lost the first game on Friday by a score of 5-1, as Washington held the Trojans to only one run for the first time this season.

The team bounced back impressively, however, winning back-to-back extra inning games in order to capture its first away series in conference play this season.

Saturday marked the longest recorded game in USC baseball history, as it took 16 innings to finally decide a scoreless game.

The Trojans broke out with three runs in the top of the 16th behind an RBI single from sophomore Corey Dempster and a two-run RBI single from junior Timmy Robinson.

The extra runs proved to be essential, as the Huskies threatened the Trojans’ lead in the bottom of the 16th with a two-run home run from infielder Braden Bishop.

The Trojans came away unscathed, however, and tied the series at 1-1.

Sunday’s game did not lack excitement either, as the back-and-forth contest wasn’t decided until the 10th inning.

The Trojans and Huskies traded runs all afternoon and took a 3-3 tie into extra innings, where it took redshirt junior Bobby Stahel’s first collegiate home run to decide the contest.

Stahel’s solo home run gave the Trojans a 4-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as redshirt freshman Alex Chavarria recorded his second-straight save to lock down the series for USC.

Head coach Dan Hubbs attributes the Trojans’ success in late innings to their maturity and ability to play fundamental baseball.

“We made some big pitches in some big spots. The kids kept fighting and finding ways to get on base,” Hubbs said.“Mentally, I think these kids understand how important each and every game is. There’s a lot of resiliency in this team because they’re an older group, and I think that has a lot to do with it.”

Looking ahead, the Trojans will travel to Tuscon to face the Wildcats on Thursday for their third conference series of the season.

Arizona is riding a strong wave of momentum, coming off back-to-back series sweeps against Pac-12 opponents Stanford and Oregon.

With a six-game winning streak, the Wildcats (22-6, 7-2 Pac-12) enter the series against the Trojans as the No. 25 team in the country.

Hubbs isn’t focused on Arizona’s recent success, however, as he treats every opponent the same no matter how many wins or losses they have.

“I don’t know if it matters who has momentum. I mean, we could say we have the momentum because we’re coming off two tough games late this weekend,” Hubbs said. “We’re a good team, and I know if we play well we’re going to be in a position to win against anyone.”

Arizona has benefited from one of the most prolific offenses in the nation thus far, led by junior middle infielders Scott Kingery and Kevin Newman.

Through their first 28 games, the Wildcats lead the country with a .332 batting average, but Kingery and Newman have been especially dominant.

Kingery leads all players with 53 base hits, and his .453 batting average ranks first in the country. Newman, while not quite as dominant as Kingery, has been impressive himself. He ranks fourth in the country with 49 base hits and 11th with a .426 batting average.

Though Hubbs admits that shutting down these two hitters will be a challenge, he believes his pitchers are up to the task.

“They can really hit, especially at the top of the lineup,” Hubbs said. “Kingery and Newman cause a lot of problems because they can run too, so we have to do our best to keep them off base. We’re not going to completely shut them down. In the reports we have, it says they’re going to get their hits, so we just have to make sure they’re not in big spots.”

Though the Trojans have benefited from consistent hitting and recently improved defense, Hubbs believes their pitching is still the key to their success moving forward.

“Going into Tuscon, we’re going to have to pitch better than we did in Seattle. Arizona, at their field, is going to exploit us if we don’t pitch better against them,” Hubbs said. “We just can’t give up seven runs and expect to win.”