The Trojans and the Bruins have each built up momentum as they prepare to meet on the baseball diamond for this weekend’s late-season rivalry series.

After seven straight series wins and building a seven-game winning streak, USC (30-14, 14-7 Big Ten) has gotten hot at the right time. The Trojans’ next opponent will be another opportunity to pull off an upset victory against a ranked team. UCLA (33-11, 16-5 Big Ten) comes into this season’s edition of the crosstown rivalry ranked No. 14 in the nation, and carrying a four-game winning streak of its own.  

In their most recent series, the Trojans swept Minnesota (21-22, 7-14 Big Ten) in a weekend full of early dominance and late drama. 

The Trojans opened the series against the Gophers with a 17-hit game and scored in all but two innings on the way to a dominant 16-6 victory. Freshman pitcher Andrew Johnson was the team’s anchor on the mound, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and allowing only two hits. 

The final game of the series got off to a slow start for the Trojans. The Gophers quickly took a 2-run lead until USC’s bats woke up to put a run on the board in the sixth. In the ninth, the Trojans went on a four-hit rally and closed the game to win 3-2. 

While USC struggled to capitalize on opportunities with runners in scoring position early in the season, the Trojans’ clutch hitting has been huge lately, allowing them to pull off comeback wins such as the effort against the Gophers. 

Following its series sweep, USC took on Cal State University, Northridge (10-29, 6-15 Big West) in an 8-0 shutout win. In the win, sophomore outfielder Andrew Lamb went three for four at the plate, driving in three runners. No Trojan pitcher got more than seven outs, as the bullpen combined for eight strikeouts and only allowed four hits.

Similarly, the Bruins are coming off a sweep of conference rival Penn State (26-17, 12-12 Big Ten). Standout performances from redshirt senior infielder and outfielder AJ Salgado, who finished with three hits, and six scoreless innings from junior pitcher Michael Barnett led the charge in game two. The Nittany Lions did not score until the ninth inning and were ultimately crushed 9-1.

Most recently, UCLA took a 7-2 victory over Loyola Marymount University (23-22, 10-8 West Coast). Offensively, sophomore infielder Roman Martin was the most impressive, amassing two hits and two RBIs.

This weekend’s series will not be the first time USC has faced off with UCLA this season. On March 2, the Trojans were defeated by the Bruins 5-1 in Westwood, unable to score until the seventh inning despite 10 hits. During this meeting, USC stranded eleven runners on base across the entire game. If the Trojans’ clutch hitting holds up, they will have a much better chance of taking down the Bruins. 

For UCLA, sophomore infielder Roch Cholowsky was the foundation in the batter’s box with two hits and four RBIs in the game. Cholowsky — named a Second Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game in 2024 — has been a force for the Bruins this season, sporting a .372 batting average, 16 home runs and 52 RBIs.

USC has struggled against ranked opposition this year, being swept by No. 6 Oregon (31-12, 14-7 Big Ten), as well as dropping games to No. 8 UC Irvine (33-9, 19-2 Big West) and then-No. 16 UC Santa Barbara (29-14, 13-11 Big West).

Since 1999, the Bruins have gotten the better of the Trojans. USC has a 39-51 record against UCLA and is currently on a three-game losing streak. However, in their last ten matchups, the two teams are tied at five apiece.

The mound has been a point of success for the Trojans this season. Earlier this week, Johnson was named the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week for his performance against Minnesota. After nine strikeouts in a complete game two-hitter against Minnesota — USC’s first two hit, nine-inning effort from a pitcher since 2015 — senior pitcher Caden Aoki was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week. 

USC and UCLA’s crosstown rivalry picks up this weekend at Great Park in Irvine. Game one will be Friday at 6:30 p.m., followed by game two Saturday at 2 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.