Baseball loses to Hawaii after sweeping San José State

Over the last four days, USC baseball swept San José State in a 3-game series but lost 9-7 to the University of Hawaii Monday night. 

Redshirt senior outfielder Trevor Halsema hit 3 home runs and earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. 

“It’s the same thing he’s brought all year,” Head Coach Jason Gill said. “Sometimes they fall, and sometimes they’re not, but he’s certainly had a really good week and it was good to see him get hot a little bit.” 

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Ethan Reed started the Trojans’  game against Hawaii but exited after the second inning in what would be a bullpen heavy game for the Trojans. 

“We don’t necessarily have a straight up Tuesday starter, so we’re trying to get as many guys work as possible,” Gill said. 

The Rainbow Warriors opened up the scoring, with redshirt sophomore shortstop Kyson Donahue bringing in junior infielder Dallas Duarte with an RBI double. The Trojans answered in the bottom of the first, with an RBI from both redshirt sophomore infielder Tyresse Turner and Halsema. 

Hawaii took an early lead after a four-run third inning. Junior utility player Jacob Igawa hit a three-run home run in the inning. USC redshirt junior pitchers Toby Spach and Garrett Clarke gave up 4 combined earned runs. 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Trojans stormed back with three runs, taking a 7-5 lead. Unfortunately for USC, the Rainbow came full circle as Hawaii scored 4 more runs, scattered across the remaining innings. 

Despite a game-packed schedule, sophomore infielder D’Andre Smith said that he looks forward to next weekend’s matchup against Pac-12 foe No. 5 Oregon State.

“Some guys are a little beat up, but coming Friday, we’ll be ready to go,” Smith said. “We’re really eager to get out against Oregon State. They’re having a great year.” 

While the Trojans fell short against Hawaii, the series against San José State yielded success for the Trojans. 

USC was in danger of losing the first game of the series entering the seventh inning, after the Spartans scored 5 runs to break even. A late home run from Halsema brought the Trojans back into the mix on their way to winning the game 7-6. 

Redshirt senior pitcher Isaac Esqueda got the start for the Trojans. He faced nine batters in under 2 innings of work, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks. 

San José State utility player Charles McAdoo proved to be a problem for the Trojan pitching staff, with each of his four at-bats ending with a hit. The sophomore had two RBIs, each coming early in the game. 

Redshirt sophomore outfielder Rhylan Thomas and redshirt sophomore outfielder Adrian Colon-Rosado also contributed to the Trojans’ comeback efforts. Thomas had 3 hits and one RBI, while Colon-Rosado scored 2 runs and had a hit. 

In Saturday’s game, USC again came from behind in the eighth inning to win another close game 7-5. Halsema, the Pac-12 Player of the Week, had another 2 home runs and scored the winning run after a sacrifice fly out from junior infielder Nick Lopez. Sophomore starting pitcher Tyler Stromsborg struggled in the first five innings, giving up 4 runs and 4 walks. 

The Trojans completed their sweep of San José State Sunday, defeating the Spartans 6-2. All 6 of USC’s runs came in the second inning, starting with a grand slam from redshirt sophomore infielder Johnny Olmstead. Lopez hit a single-run homer and Colon-Rosado hit an RBI single to end the Trojans’ scoring for the night. 

The Spartans scored runs in the third and fourth innings, and both came as a result of fielding errors from the Trojans. Sophomore starting pitcher Charlie Hurley threw for eight innings with no earned runs and only 2 hits. It took redshirt junior Carson Lambert only 14 pitches to close out the game for the Trojans. Lambert threw 2 strikeouts against three batters. 

With a few days to rest after a busy stretch, Gill’s Trojans continue to prepare for the upcoming series against Pac-12 opponent No. 5 Oregon State. 

“We’ve got to get to work on some of the things we need to get to work on,” Gill said. “We’re far from being as good as we can be, so we’ve just got to keep getting better.”