USC sweeps Omaha in weekend series

USC swept a three-game series against the University of Nebraska at Omaha this past weekend at Dedeaux Field.

The sweep pushes the Trojans to three games above .500, now sitting at 5-2 through the first seven games of the season. 

Friday night’s match was hotly contested, with USC redshirt senior lefty Isaac Esqueda pitted against Omaha’s senior right-handed pitcher Mike Timmins. Both pitchers lasted over six innings and departed in the seventh inning with their teams down a run. 

In the bottom of the seventh, redshirt sophomore outfielder Rhylan Thomas hit a double to bring home redshirt sophomore Adrian Colon-Rosado for the tying run. Redshirt sophomore Miko Rodriguez came home on a sacrifice fly from redshirt sophomore infielder Tyresse Turner to take a 3-2 lead.

The Mavericks would tie the game on a sacrifice fly from second baseman Cam Frederick in the top of the eighth. The offenses for both squads stalled into extras, until a walk-off double from redshirt senior outfielder Trevor Halsema secured a 4-3 victory in 12 innings.

Game 2 of the series saw sophomore right-hander Tyler Stromsborg make his second start of the season for the Trojans. Omaha started sophomore right-handed pitcher Charlie Bell.

USC took the lead in the first on a single by Halsema, scoring Thomas and never looked back. 

A sacrifice fly by redshirt junior infielder Emilio Rosas and a third-inning bomb by junior infielder Nick Lopez proved to be enough offense for the afternoon. Stromsburg departed after five innings with the Trojans protecting a 3-2 advantage, and the bullpen silenced the Maverick bats the rest of the way.

Halsema was the spark plug for the Trojan offense, tacking on three hits and two RBIs on the day. Redshirt junior pitcher Garrett Clarke nailed the 5-2 USC victory with a save in the ninth.

Looking to seal the series sweep Sunday, the Trojans matched sophomore pitcher Jaden Agassi against Omaha junior lefty Caleb Riedel.

“It’s really hard when you’re 2-0 going into that third game to not think about trying to sweep a team,” said Head Coach Jason Gill in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “But at the end of the day, it’s not about sweeping the team — it’s about winning the day.”

However, the Trojans were challenged by the scorching hot bats of the Mavericks, as Omaha managed to chase Agassi out of the game after 5 hits and 3 runs in 2.1 innings of work. 

Redshirt junior pitcher Carson Lambert closed out the frame and subsequently shut the Mavericks down through the fifth.

“Jaden didn’t have a great day, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. He just didn’t have his stuff,” Gill said. “Turn on the TV and watch the big leaguers — there’s times where those guys don’t have their stuff either.”

The Trojans cut Omaha’s lead to 1 on a two-run shot off the bat of Lopez, his second homer of the homestand. Each squad eventually added one run off of RBI singles. Entering the bottom of the eighth, Omaha held onto a slim 4-3 lead.

Leading off the inning, Halsema pounded an opposite field homer to right field to knot the score at 4. Redshirt sophomore infield and third baseman Johnny Olmstead scored on a passed ball to take the lead for USC. A triple to right-center off sophomore infield D’Andre Smith’s bat provided a two-run cushion and ultimately sealed a four-run spot in the eighth.

“We’ve been down in some games and our offense isn’t firing, but the guys are finding ways to scratch and claw and put more runs up than the other team,” Gill said. “We’re throwing strikes and playing catch, which is keeping us close enough for our offense to come back late.”

The series sweep pushes the Trojans to fifth in the Pac-12, half a game behind sixth-ranked Stanford. 

The Trojans have a busy schedule, but Gill says that the team will look to capitalize on practice time.

“Wednesday and Thursday are big practice days this week,” Gill said. “We have some stuff offensively that we need to get to, and maybe some situational game drills that we can work on for our offense.” 

Now well above .500, USC will look to continue its winning streak against Loyola Marymount Tuesday.