Pitching was supposed to carry USC in the postseason, and it did not disappoint.
But oh, those Trojans bats.
They revived memories of the cardinal and gold teams that once dominated college baseball.
Thanks to another bad showdown Monday night in the NCAA Tournament, these Trojans might just join them.
USC is headed to the Super Regional for the first time in more than two decades after beating Texas A&M, 7-1, at Blue Bell Park to win the College Station regional where the Trojans battled widely after dropping their opening game.
What they did from then on was 55 runs in four overs to remove any doubt that they were the best in this group.
Goodbye, Lamar. Bye-bye, Texas State. Bye-bye, Texas A&M.
Look at North Carolina.
Game 1 USC’s first Super Regional since 2005 will be Friday in Chapel Hill, NC, against a team ranked No. 5 nationally.
In what could be called the Year of Upheaval — with top-seeded UCLA and second-seeded Georgia Tech among the teams that failed to advance from the Regional round — the Trojans pulled off another upset against No. 12-seeded Aggies.
Augie Lopez delivered the big blow, crushing a three-run homer to right field in the seventh inning to extend the Trojans’ lead to 5-1. Lopez finished with five runs batted in after driving in a single in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
“That’s an unstoppable offense right there,” Lopez said on ESPN after the Trojans racked up 59 runs and 72 hits in five games. “You know, we talk a lot about the dugout and our meetings, putting together quality at-bats and getting four in a row, five in a row – that’s how you lead to big innings.”
The Trojans (47-16) also got a big boost from starter Grant Govel. Coming off two days’ rest, the sophomore right-hander limited the Aggies to three hits and one run in four innings.
“He’s not afraid,” USC coach Andy Stankiewicz told reporters, “and he wanted the baseball in his hand.”
Relievers Chase Herrell (5-4), Sax Matson and Adam Troy combined for five innings of scoreless relief.
Troy’s perfect ninth inning was especially meaningful as he has given up game-winning home runs in each of his past two games against UCLA and Texas State.
What does it mean
A program that produced a record 12 state championships under coaches Rod Dedeaux and Mike Gillespie is back in the national spotlight after two decades of obscurity.
In just his fourth season, Stankiewicz has put the Trojans on the brink of their first College World Series appearance since 2001.
“It’s a legacy, it’s huge,” Stankiewicz said. “Obviously, we all know about coach Dedeaux and coach Gillespie and what they’ve done, and we want to bring back a good name to USC baseball.”
A place to change
Trailing, 1-0, going into the fifth inning, USC showed they weren’t going to go down quietly.
After Dean Carpentier led off with a single to center and advanced on a sacrifice bunt, he scored on Abrie Covarrubias’ single to left center.
Covarrubias then stole second base with two outs and scored the go-ahead run on Lopez’s two-out, two-strike single to right-center.
The Trojans were on their way to scoring the final seven runs of the game.
MVP: Augie Lopez
Lopez combined for five hits and seven runs in the final two games of the series against Texas A&M to help the Trojans beat the Aggies on back-to-back days.
Did you see that?
A header by USC first baseman Adrian Lopez prevented Texas A&M from scoring a run in the fourth.
With two outs and two out, the Aggies’ Jorian Wilson hit an infield single. Lopez, seeing the runner rounding third base and trying to get home on the play, fired the ball to pinch hitter Isaac Cadena, who used the tag for the final out of the inning.
Next
USC will open the Super Regional on Friday against the Tar Heels.
