USC baseball tames the Cougars
The Trojans completed a three- game sweep of the Washington State Cougars on a clear Sunday afternoon at Dedeaux Field. USC is now 14-8-1 on the season after its first series sweep of the Cougars since 2002. It’s now in third place in the Pac-12, holding a 7-2 record in conference play.
“[The sweep] is a momentum boost, confidence boost,” said Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz in a postgame interview. “It’s not easy to sweep in the Pac-12 … A lot of times on a Sunday when you win a series you just kind of go through the motions, take the series and go home, but we were greedy today.”
Things started off at Dedeaux Field with an iconic first pitch from one of the pioneers of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Ninety-six-year-old Maybelle Blair threw a pitch right down the middle, just like she used to in her playing days that inspired the movie “A League of Their Own” (1992).
Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Eric Hammond got the nod and fared well against the Cougars. He started off the game with a quick 1-2-3 first inning. Then, in the bottom half of the first, the Trojans got on the board thanks to a stand-up triple from redshirt freshman second baseman Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek after the center fielder for Washington State, junior Jonah Advincula, misplayed the ball and tripped. Junior left fielder Carson Wells then brought Martin-Grudzielanek home on an RBI groundout.
Hammond finished the start, going five innings strong, allowing two earned runs and striking out two batters. This was the longest outing of Hammond’s first six starts of the season.
“[Hammond’s] offspeed stuff was working a little, his fastball command was sometimes a little inconsistent, but he’s healthy, he’s strong,” Stankiewicz said. “I’m glad that he fought through it a little bit … I’m proud of his effort, he’s found a way to get us back in the dugout numerous times.”
The Cougars quickly tied the ballgame in the top of the second after an RBI fielder’s choice from senior left fielder Greg Fuchs. The Trojans responded in the bottom half, scoring two runs of their own with RBIs from redshirt freshman shortstop Caiden Huber and senior catcher Connor Clift.
Washington State’s starting pitcher redshirt senior Caden Kaelber was up and down on Sunday. The 6-foot-7 right-hander with a funky three-quarters arm slot allowed three runs in the first two innings, but settled down in the middle parts of the game. At one point, he retired eight straight Trojan hitters.
Martin-Grudzielanek got the Trojans on the board again in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-RBI double to the right-center gap. He had a huge game going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBIs.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Fisher Johnson came in relief for Trojans in the sixth inning, who then surrendered one run on an RBI double down the left field from junior right fielder Bryce Matthews.
Freshman center fielder Austin Overn kept the run party going in the bottom of the seventh inning with an RBI base hit. The freshman speedster had his 14th two-hit game of the season, having two or more hits in his fourth straight game.
“[Overn’s] a terrific, young baseball player,” Stankiewicz said. “He understands his role to get on base, hit line drives. He hit a homerun yesterday, but his approach has got to be line drive line drive, so he’s meant the world and he’s worked hard.”
Senior right-handed pitcher Kyle Wisch and redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Garrett Clarke closed the door on the Cougars, achieving quick 1-2-3 innings for the eighth and ninth innings. This was Clarke’s fourth save on the season. The Trojans finalized their third straight Pac-12 series win to start off conference play in a 6-3 victory against the Cougars.
“We got a long way to go,” Stankiewicz said. “Their understanding of the importance of just showing up everyday, working hard, putting in the work and having the right attitude. Every game is an opportunity to prove ourselves and I think they’re starting to understand that and not so much worrying about the past.”
The Trojans are looking to carry their momentum into a midweek matchup at UC Irvine and another Pac-12 series over the weekend at Utah.
“We know that Irvine is good. We haven’t been particularly good on midweeks,” Stankiewicz said. “The challenge in front of us is to not look at a midweek as anything less than a weekend, so I think that’s part of our development as a program. Every time we play is an opportunity to show ourselves well.”
The Trojans head to Irvine in a non-conference matchup with the Anteaters Tuesday at 6 p.m.