A disappointing loss to Long Beach State University and a rough sweep at the hands of No. 20 Nebraska meant one thing: USC baseball needed to get out of its funk and fast.

Walking into Goodwin Field, Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz and his team knew this, and changes were made right out of the gate. The Trojans jumped on the board immediately, scoring four runs with their first seven batters thanks to pure hitting.

No. 23 USC (31-11, 13-8 Big Ten) later tacked on five more runs to defeat Cal State Fullerton (19-20, 11-7 Big West) by a score of 9-2 to snap its four-game losing streak.

Following a weekend with a surprisingly hot offense, the hitting continued into Tuesday’s game. Each starter for the Trojans had at least one hit, totaling 17 hits as a team — the highest mark since Feb. 27 against Cal Poly SLO (21-18, 12-6).

After a rough weekend for the pitching staff, USC came out and dominated the Titans, using seven different pitchers, including Saturday starter and sophomore Grant Govel.

Takeuchi, Covarrubias ignite Trojan offense

USC’s offense lit up immediately as junior catcher Isaac Cadena opened the game with a single, followed by a walk from junior infielder Adrian Lopez and a single from sophomore catcher Augie Lopez, loading the bases for junior outfielder Kevin Takeuchi.

Takeuchi worked a full count before walking, which drove in the first run. A quick RBI from sophomore utility player Maximo Martinez allowed the Trojans’ best hitter on the night, junior infielder Abbrie Covarrubias, to line a single to left field and score two more runs.

USC followed a strong top of the first by sprinkling five runs across the rest of the game, besting the Titan offense while outhitting them 17-6.

“We had some good at-bats tonight, moving runners up, getting runners in,” Stankiewicz said in a postgame interview posted to the team’s X account. “It was good to see a better approach all around at the plate.”

Takeuchi sparked the offensive front, blasting a double to right-center field that scored two more runs. He finished the night with three RBIs, one hit and one walk. Takeuchi has been USC’s best hitter all season, leading the Trojans in batting average and RBIs with a .312 and 39, respectively.

As for Covarrubias, his bat and legs would stay hot all night, collecting two more hits, another RBI and a stolen base. The second baseman is currently hitting .263 on the year and sits third on the team in hits with 40. He is also tied for fifth in stolen bases in the Big Ten with 15, posing a threat at the plate and on the basepaths.

Seven pitchers shut down the Titans

In his first college start, freshman pitcher and infielder Diego Velazquez was on cruise control, striking out four of the seven batters he faced, earning him his third win of the season. Velazquez’s time is short, as he has yet to exceed two innings this year.

After a shaky third and fourth inning that resulted in two runs for Fullerton, redshirt sophomore Chase Herrell came in and shut the door on the Titans, allowing just one hit across the two innings he pitched. Herrell, the typical Tuesday starter, has found much better success from the bullpen in weekday games.

The last three innings were pure domination from the last three Trojan pitchers. Juniors Sax Matson and Adam Troy had strong outings after disaster struck for each in the Nebraska (31-10, 15-3 Big Ten) series.

Similarly, following a less-than-ideal start on Saturday, Govel came into the game against Fullerton for a quick inning of work after only pitching three against the Cornhuskers. He, too, followed suit and did not allow a single base runner in the top of the ninth, finishing the win for USC.

Weekend homestand against Purdue

After a weekend away from Dedeaux Field, USC will return to face a good Purdue (28-12, 15-6) squad. The Boilermakers, much better at the plate than on the mound, will pose a test for the usually strong Trojan pitching staff that struggled mightily against Nebraska.

“They’re playing really well, and they are a good ball club,” Stankiewicz said. “Our starters gotta give us real quality innings.”

Junior Mason Edwards, Govel and sophomore Andrew Johnson will face a tough Purdue offense, headed by senior infielder Sam Flores, who leads his team in average, hits, runs scored, RBIs and home runs. Shutting down Flores will be the key for the Trojan pitching staff.

The Boilermakers have other strong bats in redshirt senior infielder Aaron Manias and senior outfielder Eli Anderson. Manias — second in the Big Ten in on-base percentage — boasts a .356 average but can get on base in any way, including 16 walks and hits by pitches each. Similarly, Anderson is another hot bat and second on the team with 50 hits and 34 runs scored.

On the rubber, the Purdue staff as a whole has struggled, with a collective 4.99 ERA and 400 hits allowed — the latter of which is the second-most in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are slated to start junior Cole Van Assen on Friday, senior Zach Erdman on Saturday and senior Austin Klug on Sunday. Each starter boasts a 3.98 ERA or higher in at least 40 innings pitched.

The Trojans will take on the Boilermakers in the first game of a three-game series Friday at Dedeaux Field at 7 p.m.