Baseball drops series to California
After topping host No. 22 California (33-17, 17-10 Pac-12) 11-3 Saturday afternoon, the No. 15 Trojans (35-18, 16-11 Pac-12) lost 7-5 and 7-2 on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
The Trojans’ win was sparked by three RBIs and a two-run home run from junior center fielder Timmy Robinson. In the top of the second, Robinson kicked off the scoring drive with an RBI double.
Sophomore first baseman Jeremy Martinez and senior second baseman Dante Flores also had great offensive showings. Martinez went three-for-five with three RBIs and Flores knocked in two RBIs.
Senior pitcher Kyle Davis —in his second-straight Friday night start — kept the Bears to three runs and eight hits in eight innings. He struck out three and walked only one. Davis improved his record to 3-1 on the year.
Sophomore pitcher Andrew Wright tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning with one strikeout to close out the game for USC.
Game 2 of the series didn’t fair as well for the Trojans. It was a back-and-forth battle, but the Bears maintained the lead and got the win to tie the series at one game apiece.
USC jumped ahead early with senior catcher Garrett Stubbs knocking in Martinez with a double in the first. Redshirt junior left fielder Bobby Stahel had a sac fly to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead in the second.
It was back-and-forth scoring until the Bears broke it open 5-3 in the fifth inning. It wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Trojans tied it up.
Flores had a sac fly and junior third baseman Blake Lacey knocked in his second RBI of the game.
With two on and two outs, junior right fielder AJ Ramirez was up, but he struck out to end the offensive-fueled inning.
The Bears scored the go-ahead run in the bottom half of the inning and knocked in an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to seal the win and tie the series at one each.
In the final game of the series, the Trojans saw their only two scores in the first inning —despite outhitting the Bears 8-7.
In the 7-2 loss, the Trojans’ rough patch was the nine walks from the pitchers.
When the game kicked off, it looked like it was going to be a great day for the Trojans after they scored two runs on a two-out rally. Martinez, Robinson and Flores all contributed to the early 2-0 lead.
Flores went 2-for-4 with one RBI, and Martinez went 2-for-3 with one run on the day.
The Bears sparked off their offense with three runs in the bottom of the third and sustained that momentum throughout the game to score a total of seven unanswered runs.
Three of the Bears’ seven runs were scored by baserunners who were on because of the atypical number of walks from the Trojans pitchers. Another run came as a result of an error and another as a result of a hit by pitch.
Freshman starter Mitch Hart took the loss (7-3 on the year) in three innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits with five walks and two strikeouts.
The Trojans brought in three relievers — juniors Brent Wheatley, Marc Huberman and Brooks Kriske — to try and salvage the game, but fell short.
Wheatley threw for 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. Huberman threw two innings, allowing two runs on one hit and three walks. Kriske closed out the game in 1.2 innings, allowing only just on run with two strikeouts.
The Trojans’ lack of scoring can be attributed to the fact that they left nine runners on base.
Before dropping this series, the Trojans won three of their last four.
USC will look to shake off this past weekend and win its final series of the regular season at home this weekend.
The Trojans will close out the regular season with a home series against No. 12 Arizona State (32-19, 17-10 Pac-12). The first game will be at 7 p.m. on May 22.