Following a gloomy weekend in Maryland, USC baseball was looking forward to coming home to play in sunny Southern California. That was, until the Trojans, who had just battled the rain on the road, dampened spirits quickly with struggles on the mound and at the plate. 

The Trojans looked disorganized and lost until raindrops fell on the helmet of junior catcher Isaac Cadena in the bottom of the third. Seemingly rejuvenated, Cadena smacked a double into the right field corner, starting a rally that would produce three runs.

“Got that double right there, and then everyone else started doing their part in getting those runs across,” Cadena said in a postgame interview Tuesday. “Once we start swinging it, we’re a moving train, and once it starts moving, it’s hard to stop it.”

No umbrellas, tarps or tissues were needed at Dedeaux Field as No. 12 USC (27-3, 10-2 Big Ten) added three runs in both the third and fourth innings, resulting in a 7-6 win over UC Santa Barbara (16-10, 5-4 Big West).

“This isn’t the prettiest game. We’ve got some things we want to tighten up,” Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz said in a postgame interview.

Situational hitting sets the tone

Despite not getting a hit until the third inning, the Trojans capitalized quickly on offense, with key situational hitting from several Trojans.

Junior infielder Abbrie Covarrubias brought in the first two runs of the game with an RBI triple and later scored on an RBI groundout from sophomore utility man Maximo Martinez.

After a quick top of the fourth, the bottom of the inning started abruptly when junior infielder Adrian Lopez made a splash over the left-field fence for his fourth home run of the year.

Junior outfielder Andrew Lamb followed with a single before junior outfielder Kevin Takeuchi doubled to right-center. Lamb scored on a passed ball, allowing Takeuchi to advance to third base and eventually score on an RBI groundout from Cadena.

“Hitters responded when we needed to,” Cadena said. “[UCSB] scored [three runs] in the first, [but] it didn’t scare us. It never does.”

After a sixth-inning run from the Gauchos, USC responded right away: Junior outfielder Dean Carpentier singled to bring home Takeuchi, adding a much-needed insurance run to support the bullpen.

“That’s what a good team does, figure out ways to get runners on base and get a couple of good swings off, and the next thing you know, you’re right back in it,” Stankiewicz said.

Herrell dominates in relief role

Following the first start of the season for redshirt sophomore pitcher Garren Rizzo — and his first since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2025 — USC’s usual Tuesday starter was pushed into a familiar relief role.

This season, redshirt sophomore pitcher Chase Herrell has started most Tuesday games, in addition to adding a few innings from the bullpen on weekend games.

On Tuesday, Herrell came out of the bullpen and delivered an impressive showing, throwing 5.1 innings while giving up two earned runs on just three hits and earning the win.

“We talk about big moments and whatever role you have that night, and just embrace it and be really good in that role,” Stankiewicz said. “We needed somebody to step up, extend us in our bullpen, and he did exactly what we needed.”

Redshirt junior closer Adam Troy came in for the four-out save, but ran into a little traffic and even allowed a run in the ninth inning for the first time since his disastrous outing against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (17-10, 10-2 Big West) on March 1. Still, he shut the door on the Gauchos en route to his ninth save of the year, one behind Oregon State’s (21-6) senior Albert Roblez, the NCAA-leader.

Biggest series of the year awaits

Even with the Trojans’ strong start to the season, their crosstown rivals in UCLA (26-2, 12-0) have been the undisputed No. 1 team in the country since the beginning of the season.

The Bruins, which have yet to lose a conference game, went undefeated in March and are widely considered to be the best team in college baseball. UCLA is led by junior shortstop and projected first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, Roch Cholowsky.

Cholowsky, who won nearly every major award last season, has followed it up with another great season, hitting 10 home runs and batting .346 so far.

“They got a really good offense, and they’re number one for a reason. What they’ve done is pretty darn impressive,” Stankiewicz said. “We’ll put our best foot forward and go for it.”

Perfect Game’s Midseason Pitcher of the Year, USC junior Mason Edwards, along with sophomores Grant Govel and Andrew Johnson, will look to shut down a top-12 scoring offense as part of an NCAA-leading pitching staff.

UCLA’s pitchers, while not as strong as USC’s, will combat the slower Trojan offense with junior Logan Reddemann, senior Michael Barnett and junior Landon Stump. Star sophomore reliever Wylan Moss will also likely make an appearance or two in the rivalry series.

“I don’t think we need to prove a lot. We’re a really good team [and] they’re a good team,” Cadena said. “I think it’s going to be a good series.”

USC will take on UCLA on Friday at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium to open the three-game series, in what is set to be the series of the year for the Trojans.