Trojans set to battle Beavers at Dedeaux
After a series sweep against San José State last weekend and a Monday night loss to Hawaii, USC will square off against Oregon State for a three-game series this weekend.
The 17-9 Trojans have yet to play the Beavers, but last year’s squad dropped the season series 1-2 in Corvallis. USC will host this year’s matchup, looking to ride its 13-6 record at Dedeaux Field into a series victory.
Oregon State has earned a 21-7 record on the season. Per NCAA, the Beavers boast the fifth-best squad in the nation and have peaked as high as No. 3.
The Trojans’ victories on Friday and Saturday night against San José State came as a result of late-inning heroics from USC’s offense. However, Monday night’s loss to the Rainbow Warriors showed the opposite story, as the Trojans blew a 2-run lead in the fifth inning before falling behind in the top of the sixth.
“There’s some areas last night on the mound that we didn’t do great at,” said Head Coach Jason Gill in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “I’m sure that we’ll get to work in that bullpen and try to make some adjustments before Friday.”
This series will mark the halfway point in the regular season for the Trojans. At this point, the squad has amassed a collective .803 OPS and 4.31 ERA, with both stats besting last season’s marks.
Gill laid out his team’s aspirations for the second half of the season, as the team vies for a playoff berth.
“Baseball is baseball, it’s difficult to do day in and day out. I think that’s part of the lessons that we’re learning,” Gill said. “In the second half, we’re looking to finish in the top four or five in the conference. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Oregon State’s bats are its main calling card. The Beavers score 9.0 runs per game on average, which leads the Pac-12 and is the 15th-highest average across all of Division 1. OSU’s slugging percentage and stolen base rates are also among the top of the conference, making up a dynamic offense.
OSU’s pitching staff places second in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio, while the defense boasts the Pac-12’s highest fielding percentage.
“That’s why they’re one of the best teams in the country. Very well balanced offensively, defensively, and on the mound,” Gill said.
Despite a loss to out-of-conference Hawaii on Monday night, the Trojans are 3-1 over the past four games and have scored 6 runs or more per game over that stretch. The recent hot stretch is thanks to Pac-12 player of the week Trevor Halsema and redshirt sophomores Adrian Colon-Rosado and Tyresse Turner — with 1.042 and .916 OPS, respectively. The staff ace, redshirt senior Isaac Esqueda, recently returned from injury and should be able to put his starting-pitcher leading ERA of 1.35 to good use.
With three practice days available between games, the Trojans have time to recalibrate from Monday’s loss and focus on what brought them success up to this point. Gill said he believes the squad’s practice this week could prove a huge indicator of the team’s performance on the field this weekend.
“You have to play good baseball: Throw quality strikes, can’t give free bases up on defense, you gotta put the ball in play with authority and make defenses work and you gotta run the bases intelligently,” Gill said. “That’s what we’re gonna focus on because that’s what we try to do in our practice sessions, and that’s what we’re trying to do in our games.”
Despite playing the role of David against the Pac-12’s very own Goliath, Gill said he believes the ballclub has just as much of a chance as anyone.
“When our lineup goes out there to compete against the opponent, we’ve shown that we can play with anybody in the country,” Gill said. “We need to continue to focus on that and work on that.”
The No. 5 Beavers will serve as a challenge for the unranked Trojans. The teams will face off Friday at 6 p.m. at Dedeaux Field.