Following a weekend sweep of Iowa, the Trojans came into Blair Field on Tuesday night riding a high. Spirits were up in the Trojan dugout as junior infielder Abbrie Covarrubias stepped into the box, adjusted his gloves and looked to help his team win a fourth straight game.

However, that was not the case as Covarrubias struck out on four pitches. Junior catcher Isaac Cadena was next, and similarly, he was shut down on four pitches. Up stepped junior outfielder Kevin Takeuchi to try to break the momentum. Takeuchi, like his fellow teammates, failed and flew out to right field on two pitches.

The stagnant offense remained the story of the night for the Trojans at the plate as spirits were broken and shot down in flames in the unsettling loss. Despite an attempted comeback in the seventh and eighth innings, it was not enough as No. 12 USC (30-8, 13-5 Big Ten) fell 5-3 to Cal State Long Beach (12-24, 6-12 Big West).

The loss marked just the eighth overall of the year for the Trojans, but the seventh across the last 13 games. One-off Tuesday games, as opposed to the typical Friday-Saturday-Sunday series, are proving to be one of USC’s biggest weaknesses across this stretch; the Trojans have dropped three of their past four mid-week contests.

With the loss to a scrambling Long Beach team and an upcoming series against a tough Nebraska (28-9, 12-3) squad, USC will have to rebound quickly if they want a shot at being one of the 16 hosts or even playing in a potential NCAA Regional Tournament come the end of May.

Herrell, offense dwindles as comeback falls short

In the second game of a home-and-home series against the Dirtbags, redshirt sophomore starting pitcher Chase Herrell failed to make it out of the fourth inning, allowing four runs, six hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. His less-than-ideal start forced the bullpen to be on cleanup duty for the rest of the night.

Across the next 4.2 innings, redshirt sophomore Garren Rizzo, sophomore Ben Cushnie and junior Sax Matson combined for just two hits allowed and one unearned run. The dominant bullpen was one of the only bright spots for USC on Tuesday, however.

On the other side, Dirtbag graduate starter Caleb Anderson pitched six innings of one-hit ball while striking out nine Trojans. Although Long Beach’s bullpen was not quite as good as USC’s, it still capitalized when it mattered most, preventing a Trojan comeback despite allowing three runs in the final three frames.

Sophomore catcher Augie Lopez continued his hot streak by blasting his third home run in the past three games — a two-run, eighth-inning shot. His recent tear has him leading USC in home runs with 11, tied for sixth in the Big Ten.

One notable absence from the lineup was junior infielder Adrian Lopez. Lopez, who missed his first game of the year Tuesday, has emerged as one of the Trojans’ best players, hitting .294 with four home runs and 27 RBIs. His bat was certainly missed, as USC recorded only five hits.

USC’s pinch hitters were another bright spot on the night as each recorded at least one hit. Redshirt freshman outfielder Will Stickney recorded a single in the seventh but was left stranded on third base. The other pinch hitter was junior outfielder Jack Basseer, who doubled to center in the seventh, which brought in one run. 

Other than the pinch hitters and Lopez, Cadena was the only other Trojan to record a hit, as he went 2-for-3 with one walk and scored a run.

Big series on the horizon

Following the disappointing loss to the Dirtbags, USC will look to switch things up against Nebraska in one of the biggest series of the year.

The Cornhuskers were previously ranked No. 19 before losing a series to another top-ranked Big Ten team last weekend — now-No. 19 Oregon (26-10, 10-5). Each game of the series was decided by two runs or fewer.

Junior infielder Case Sanderson is one opposing bat to watch after hitting three home runs in the series. Two of the Cornhuskers’ other top hitters include junior outfielder Mac Moyer, who holds a stellar .393 average, and senior infielder Dylan Carey, who has a team-high 10 home runs.

Nebraska will likely start redshirt junior right-hander Cooper Katskee on Friday, who possesses a perfect 5-0 record and a 3.27 ERA. On Saturday, the Cornhuskers will pitch redshirt sophomore right-hander Carson Jasa, who has 70 strikeouts and six wins. In the final game of the series, Nebraska will start sophomore right-hander Gavin Blachowicz, who comes in with a 3-1 record and a 2.27 ERA.

On the other side, the Trojans will battle with their trio of starting pitchers: junior Mason Edwards, sophomore Grant Govel and sophomore Andrew Johnson. Edwards, who struck out a career-high 16 batters against Iowa (19-15, 5-10), was named to the National Team of the Week by Baseball America.

Edwards and the Trojans will take on the Cornhuskers in the first game of a big three-game series on Friday at 4 p.m. at Hawks Field in Lincoln, Nebraska.