University Southern California Trojans
USC Battles UCLA In Non-Conference Series This Weekend
February 23, 2000 | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2000
LOS ANGELES
- The No. 9 USC baseball team - winner of 12 NCAA championships, more than twice as many as any other school - is 7-3 to start the 2000 season. The Trojans defeated the University of San Diego, 7-3, in a non-conference game Tuesday (Feb. 22) at Dedeaux Field. The Trojans will host UCLA (6-5) in a non-conference, three-game series on Friday (Feb. 25) at 5 p.m., Saturday (Feb. 26) at 1 p.m. and Sunday (Feb. 27) at 1 p.m.
RANKINGS
- USC is No. 9 in the latest Baseball America poll, No. 14 in the USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches' poll and No. 16 in Collegiate Baseball. UCLA is No. 8 in Baseball America, No. 15 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 19 in the USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches' poll.
USA BASEBALL
- USC coach Mike Gillespie will serve as Head Coach of the 2000 USA Baseball National Team of collegiate all-stars that will play on the US WEST Red, White and Blue Summer Tour. USC assistant coach John Savage will serve as the pitching coach for Team USA.
Opponent Outlook
UCLA (non-conference series)
Friday, Feb. 25 - Dedeaux Field, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 26 - Dedeaux Field, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 27 - Dedeaux Field, 1 p.m.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
- UCLA is 7-5 on the season after defeating Pepperdine, 11-7, at home on Tuesday (Feb. 22), snapping a four-game losing streak. The Bruins, ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation earlier this season, were swept by North Carolina last weekend at home (13-17, 4-6, 11-12). UCLA offers a potent offense with its .339 batting average and 27 home runs as a testament. The Bruins are led by OF Bill Scott (.451, 6 HR, 18 RBI) and IF Garrett Atkins (.435, 5 HR, 19 RBI). Two starters in action this weekend for the Bruins will be righthander Jon Brandt (1-1 record, 7.47 ERA, 15.2 IP, 20 H) and lefthander Rob Henkel (1-1, 8.03 ERA, 12.1 IP, 19 H).
THE SERIES
- The Trojans hold an 222-99 (.692) series advantage against the Bruins in a series that first began in 1928. The Trojans were 2-4 against the Bruins last season:
Date Site W/L Score Linescore Attend. Mar. 5 UCLA W 6-3 6-8-0 3-9-1 497 Mar. 6 UCLA L 5-6 5-7-0 6-8-5 496 Mar. 7 UCLA L 7-8 7-8-0 8-10-2 686 Apr. 30 USC W 4-1 4-7-1 1-2-1 1,044 May 1 USC L 2-3 2-8-0 3-11-2 1,242 May 2 USC L 5-8 5-9-0 8-11-1 1,605
USC Rankings In National Polls
Baseball Collegiate USA Today BB Weekly/
Date America Baseball ESPN
Preseason 11th 15th 11th
Feb. 7 6th 17th N/A
Feb. 14 9th 17th 15th
Feb. 21 9th 16th 14th
National Polls (As of Feb. 21, 2000)
Baseball America
1. Florida State 2. Stanford 3. LSU 4. Cal State Fullerton 5. Alabama 6. Baylor 7. Georgia Tech 8. UCLA 9. USC 10. Houston 11. Auburn 12. Texas 13. North Carolina 14. Miami 15. Tulane 16. Wichita State 17. Clemson 18. South Carolina 19. Arizona State 20. Loyola Marymount 21. Rice 22. Long Beach State 23. Notre Dame 24. East Carolina 25. Louisiana-Lafayette
Collegiate Baseball
1. Florida State 2. Stanford 3. LSU 4. North Carolina 5. Texas 6. Georgia Tech 7. Cal State Fullerton 8. Alabama 9. Clemson 10. Houston 11. Miami 12. Tulane 13. uburn 14. Wichita State 15. UCLA 16. USC 17. Baylor 18. South Carolina 19. Arizona State 20. East Carolina 21. Rice 22. Long Beach State 23. Fresno State 24. Oklahoma State 25. Notre Dame
USA Today Baseball Weekly / ESPN
1. Florida State 2. LSU 3. Stanford 4. North Carolina 5. Auburn 6. Georgia Tech 7. Alabama 8. Texas 9. Houston 10. Miami 11. Wichita State 12. Baylor 13. Clemson 14. USC 15. Cal State Fullerton 16. Arizona State 17. Tulane 18. South Carolina 19. UCLA 20. Long Beach State 21. Florida International 22. Rice 23. Fresno State 24. Kentucky 25. Louisiana-Lafayette
Recent Games Capsule
February 22 USC 7, University of San Diego 3
Rob Garibaldi's three-run homer, his first of the season, capped a four-run first inning as the Trojans collected the win at Dedeaux Field. Garibaldi went 3-for-4 for the evening. Mark Prior collected the win as the designated starter in two innings of no-hit work, striking out four batters. Rik Currier also pitched well for the Trojans, going three innings and allowing one run on one hit with five strikeouts.
February 15 USC 7, Cal State Fullerton 6
Seth Davidson's bases-loaded single in the eighth broke a 6-6 tie as the Trojans defeated the Titans at Titan Field in Fullerton. The Trojans rallied from a 5-1 deficit after two innings. Center fielder Brian Barre hit two solo home runs (his first and second of the season, respectively) while third baseman Justin Gemoll went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Rik Currier, the Trojans' No. 2 starter, picked up the win in relief to improve to 3-1 overall while Mark Prior, USC's No. 1 starter, recorded his first collegiate save. Chad Clark also pitched effectively for the Trojans, going three innings and allowing one hit and one run with seven strikeouts. Catcher Beau Craig and second baseman Anthony Lunetta had their six-game hitting streaks snapped as both players went 0-for-4 in the game.
February 13 Texas Tech 20, USC 7
Left fielder Jason Rainey hit two doubles and one home run for a seven-RBI performance as the Red Raiders won their second of three games with the win over the Trojans. Texas Tech recorded big innings with four runs in the second and fourth innings and five runs in the fifth and seventh innings. Beau Craig hit two home runs for the Trojans while center fielder Brian Barre went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
February 12 USC 9, Texas Tech 4
The Trojans used a 17-hit attack and a strong pitching effort from Rik Currier for the victory. Currier went seven and 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs. He struck out seven batters and walked two for his second win of the season. Beau Craig, Anthony Lunetta and Aaron Fausett had three hits each. USC broke the game open in the fifth, sending 10 batters to the plate. Brian Barre wrapped up the four-run inning with a two-run RBI single.
February 11 Texas Tech 4, USC 3
Eric McLamore's bases-loaded walk capped the Red Raiders' four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth for the win over the Trojans. Two costly errors by right fielder Rob Garibaldi and first baseman Alberto Concepcion kept the inning alive for Texas Tech. After the Trojans walked pinch hitter Chad Landry intentionally to load the bases with a one-run lead, USC reliever Pete Montrenes struck out pinch hitter Grant Culver for the second out in the inning. Montrenes then allowed back-to-back walks to catcher Trey Lunsford and McLamore to end the game. Garibaldi hit two doubles for the Trojans while third baseman Justin Gemoll added an RBI double. Mark Prior was the hard-luck loser as all four runs he allowed were unearned. He went eight and 1/3 innings, allowing only three hits and striking out seven batters.
TEAM OF THE 20TH CENTURY
- No other university can match the collegiate baseball tradition of USC, and it showed when Baseball America awarded the Trojans the title of ?Greatest Program of the 20th Century? in its Feb. 1, 1999 issue. Troy has an unprecedented 12 NCAA championships (no other school has more than five), 36 conference titles and 19 College World Series appearances (second most in the nation). Legendary former coach Rod Dedeaux was named ?Coach of the Century? by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. Trojan players have been named All-American first teamers 41 times, and 80 players have gone on to play in the majors, including such stars as Tom Seaver, Fred Lynn, Ron Fairly, Randy Johnson, Mark McGwire, Jeff Cirillo and Bret Boone.
PAC-10 POWERHOUSE
- USC, certainly among the strongest teams annually in the Pac-10, has many highlights over the last few years to prove it:
With its College World Series title in 1998, USC is the only Pacific-10 Conference team to have won a national championship in the last 11 years.
With 224 victories over the last five seasons (1995-99), USC ranked first among Pac-10 teams.
USC is the only Pac-10 school to have finished in the Top 10 national rankings in eight of the last 10 years.
USC has made it to an NCAA Regional final seven straight years (best among Pac-10 teams) and has earned NCAA Tournament bids nine of the last 10 years (tied with Stanford for best in the Pac-10).
USC has reached the College World Series championship game twice in the last five years (only one other Pac-10 team has made it once in the last 11 years).
COACH'S CORNER
- Mike Gillespie, in his 14th season as the Trojans' head coach, has a 526-296-2 (.640) career record and has led USC to the 1998 national championship, three conference titles (1991-95-96), 11 trips to the NCAA Regionals in 13 years (reaching the regional finals nine times), and trips to the 1995 and 1998 College World Series (Troy finished as the nation's runner-up in 1995). He was named the 1998 National Coach of the Year, the Pac-10 Coach of the Year three times (1991-95-96) and the West Region Coach of the Year twice (1996-98). The starting leftfielder on USC's 1961 NCAA-winning team, he is one of just two men who have both coached and played on championship teams.
COACHING SUPERLATIVES
- Legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux was named College Coach of the Century for baseball in the February issue of Coach & Athletic Director Magazine. Dedeaux led the Trojan baseball team to an unprecedented 11 College World Series titles (including five in a row in the 1970s) and amassed a 1,332-571-11 record during his 45-year (1942-86) tenure at Troy.
PAC-10 PRESEASON POLL
- In a preseason poll of the Pac-10 coaches, USC was picked to finish third. In order, the poll went as follows: Stanford (six first-place votes), UCLA (two first-place votes), USC, Arizona (one first-place vote), California, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State and Oregon State.
NEWS & NOTES
- Right fielder Rob Garibaldi hit his first home run of the season on Feb. 22 vs. the University of San Diego in the Trojans' 7-3 win over the Toreros...Catcher Beau Craig celebrated his 21st birthday on Feb. 12 by going 3-for-6 with a home run, double and two RBI in the Trojans' 9-4 win at Texas Tech...After hitting one home run in 25 at-bats last season, center fielder Brian Barre doubled his production in one game after hitting two solo home runs in the Trojans' 7-6 win at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 15.
LUNAR ECLIPSE
- Freshman second baseman Anthony Lunetta (Riverside/Arlington HS) has made an impact at the plate, leading the Trojans this season with a .463 batting average (19-for-41). He also leads the team with a .529 on-base percentage and went 5-for-5 in his collegiate debut on Jan. 29 at Pepperdine.
PRIOR NOTICE
- Sophomore Pitcher Mark Prior (Bonita/University HS/Vanderbilt) is showing early in the 2000 season why he earned All-America honors in his freshman season last year at Vanderbilt. Prior has a 2-1 record with a 1.03 ERA. In 26.1 innings of work, Prior has allowed 16 hits, struck out 26 batters and walked seven as opponents have hit a measly .180 against him. He recorded his first collegiate save on Feb. 15 at Cal State Fullerton after pitching 1 1/3 innings with one hit and two strikeouts in the Trojans' 7-6 win against the Titans. He was named to the Baseball America 2000 preseason All-American second team.
"K"LIMBING UP THE CHARTS
- Junior Rik Currier (Dana Point/Capistrano Valley HS), with 24 strikeouts this season, is now in 16th place on USC's all-time career list with 212 strikeouts. He needs six strikeouts to tie Bill Bordley (1977-78) for 15th place. This season, he started in 21st place and has passed such pitchers as Randy Johnson (1983-85 with 206) and Bill Lee (1966-68 with 211). As the team's No. 2 starter, Currier has a 3-1 record with a 2.95 ERA.
WHO'S HOT
CF Brian Barre: six-game hitting streak, batting .478 (11-for-23), 2 HR, 6 RBI
C Beau Craig: .385 (10-for-26) in last eight games, 4 HR, 8 RBI
RF Rob Garibaldi: .370 (10-for-27) in last six games, 1 HR, 7 RBI
DEDEAUX FIELD
- This season marks the 26th year of play at Dedeaux Field, where USC has an all-time record of 551-248-1 (.689). When USC hosted San Diego State on March 30, 1999, it was 25 years to the day from when the first game was played at Dedeaux Field. It was a special opening day in 1974, as in the first game of a doubleheader, Russ McQueen threw a no-hitter against California.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
- Junior SS Seth Davidson appears on two preseason All-American teams, as a second-team selection in Collegiate Baseball and a third-team pick in Baseball America. Sophomore RHP Mark Prior, a transfer from Vanderbilt, made the Baseball America second team. In Baseball America's Pac-10 preview, UT Alberto Concepcion was named the conference's Freshman of the Year, Prior, Concepcion and sophomore OF Aaron Fausett were listed as the first, second and fourth top newcomers, respectively, and freshman Anthony Lunetta was named the conference's top defensive second baseman.
THE RETURNERS
- The Trojans return only three position starters and one starting pitcher from the 1999 team, but it's a group that makes up a nice nucleus. Junior SS Seth Davidson, a two-time All-Pac-10 pick, starts for the third straight year. Sophomore C Beau Craig was a Freshman All-American last season. Senior 3B Justin Gemoll provides a steady bat and glove. Junior RHP Rik Currier is one of the top strikeout artists in USC history. Other returners who are poised to make a larger impact in 2000 are OF Brian Barre, RHP Tanner Eriksen, LHP Ronald Flores, RHP Pete Montrenes, UT Josh Persell, RHP Tim Petke and UT Josh Self.
THE NEWCOMERS
- It'll be difficult to distinguish the players apart without a program in 2000, as 20 of the 38 players are new to the roster. But it's a talented group, as Collegiate Baseball ranked the newcomers as the No. 1 recruiting class in the country (Baseball America ranked them second). The Trojans have added a pair of transfers from Vanderbilt - RHP Mark Prior and OF Aaron Fausett - and both were named Freshman All-Americans last season. OF Rob Garibaldi was the Northern California JC Player of the Year last season at Santa Rosa. Among the key freshmen are RHP Chad Clark, UT Alberto Concepcion, IF Anthony Lunetta and RHP Anthony Reyes.
1999 RECAP
- Despite a rough start, USC rebounded nicely to post a successful 1999 season. The Trojans went 36-26 overall, 17-7 for second place in the Pac-10, won their own NCAA Los Angeles Regional and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals before losing at Stanford. LHP Barry Zito was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year and was a unanimous All-American first teamer. C Eric Munson and OF/LHP Jason Lane were also named to at least one All-American first team. Early-season injuries and close losses saw the Trojans get off to a 4-11 start, but they went 29-12 the rest of the regular season.
PLAYER CAPSULES
#6, Brian Barre, CF, L-L
.385, 2 HR, 6 RBI Streak: 6 (.478, 11-23)
Started in nine games this season...set a career-high with two home runs on 2/15 at Cal State Fullerton, went 2-for-4 with two RBI...went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base on 2/13 at Texas Tech...errorless in 17 chances this season...has four multiple-hit games in last five games..
#13, Alberto Concepcion, UT, R-R
.240, 0 HR, 4 RBI Streak: 0 (.000, 0-0)
Started in six games this season...went 2-for-4 in his collegiate debut on 1/29 at Pepperdine...went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI on 2/4 vs. Long Beach State.
#9, Beau Craig, C, S-R
.341, 5 HR, 13 RBI Streak: 1 (.250, 1-4)
Started in every game this season...leads the team in home runs and RBI...celebrated his 21st birthday by going 3-for-6 with a double, home run and two RBI on 2/12 at Texas Tech...in the next game on 2/13 at Texas Tech, he went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI...opened the season by going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI on 1/29 at Pepperdine.
#2, Seth Davidson, SS, S-R
.233, 0 HR, 2 RBI Streak: 4 (.267, 4-15)
Started in every game this season...leads the team in stolen bases (four)...has one error in 44 chances this season (.977)...has two multiple-hit games this season...named to the 2000 Collegiate Baseball preseason All-American second team and Baseball America preseason All-American third team.
#33, Aaron Fausett, LF, R-R
.344, 0 HR, 3 RBI Streak: 1 (.333, 1-3)
Started in seven games this season...went 3-for-6 with an RBI on 2/12 at Texas Tech...earned 1999 Freshman All-American first team honors from Baseball America and honorable mention notice from Collegiate Baseball at Vanderbilt.
#15, Rob Garibaldi, RF, L-L
.327, 1 HR, 8 RBI Streak: 1 (.750, 3-4)
Started in every game this season...hit his first home run of the season on 2/22 vs. the University of San Diego, going 3-for-4 with three RBI...went 2-for-4 with two doubles on 2/11 at Texas Tech..
#26, Justin Gemoll, 3B, R-R
.405, 3 HR, 10 RBI Streak: 0 (.000, 0-0)
Started in every game this season...second on the team in batting average...went 4-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBI on 2/15 at Cal State Fullerton...had a 2-for-4 performance with two RBI on 2/6 vs. Long Beach State...errorless in 25 chances this season...has four multiple-hit games this season.
#24, Anthony Lunetta, 2B, R-R
.463, 2 HR, 10 RBI Streak: 1 (.250, 1-4)
Started in every game this season...leads the team in batting average and on-base percentage (.529)...went 3-for-5 with two RBI on 2/12 at Texas Tech...had a 3-for-5 performance with a home run and two RBI on 2/6 vs. Long Beach State...went 5-for-5 in his collegiate debut on 1/29 at Pepperdine, with a home run and two RBI...has one error in 46 chances this season (.978).
#50, Bill Peavey, 1B, L-L
.229, 1 HR, 6 RBI Streak: 0 (.000, 0-0)
Started in nine games this season...went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI on 1/30 vs. Pepperdine..
#22, Josh Persell, DH, S-R
.320, 0 HR, 2 RBI Streak: 2 (.400, 2-5)
Started in eight games this season...went 2-for-2 with two walks on 2/4 vs. Long Beach State.
#10, Josh Self, UT, R-R
.500, 1 HR, 1 RBI Streak: 2 (.400, 2-5)
Started in eight games this season...went 2-for-2 with two walks on 2/4 vs. Long Beach State.
PITCHER CAPSULES
#25, Chad Clark, RHP
0-0 record, 12.00 ERA, 9 IP, 14 H, 9 BB, 10 SO
Allowed one hit and one run in three innings of work on 2/15 at Cal State Fullerton, striking out seven and walking five batters.
#8, Rik Currier, RHP
3-1 record, 2.95 ERA, 21.1 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 24 SO
Has made three starts this season...moved into 16th place on the all-time career list with five strikeouts on 2/22 vs. the University of San Diego (212 career strikeouts) in three innings...his longest stint of the season came on 2/12 at Texas Tech, where he went seven and 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits, striking out seven batters and walking two...struck out eight batters in five innings in his first start of the season to record the win on 1/30 vs. Pepperdine.
#7, Pete Montrenes, RHP
1-0 record, 5.11 ERA, 12.1 IP, 11 H, 15 BB, 10 SO
Has started in one game this season...pitched two and 2/3 innings and did not allow a hit on 2/4 vs. Long Beach State.
#23, Anthony Reyes, RHP
1-1 record, 3.45 ERA, 15.2 IP, 18 H, 7 BB, 10 SO
Has started in two games this season as the Trojans' No. 3 starter...recorded his first collegiate win on 2/6 vs. Long Beach State and allowed one earned run on five hits in six innings of work...recorded his first collegiate save with four no-hit innings and four strikeouts on 1/30 vs. Pepperdine.
#21, Mark Prior, RHP
2-1 record, 1.03 ERA, 26.1 IP, 16 H, 7 BB, 26 SO
Has made four starts this season...has allowed only three earned runs this season...went eight and 1/3 innings on 2/11 at Texas Tech, allowing three hits and striking out seven batters...on 2/4 vs. Long Beach State, he allowed two runs on seven hits in seven and 2/3 innings of work, striking eight batters and walking one...pitched seven innings in his USC debut on 1/29 at Pepperdine, striking out five batters...named to Baseball America's 2000 preseason All-American second team...earned 1999 Freshman All-American second team honors from Baseball America while at Vanderbilt last season.
#37, Tim Petke, RHP
0-0 record, 5.68 ERA, 6.1 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 6 SO
Pitched one and 2/3 innings on 2/15 at Cal State Fullerton, allowing one hit.
SEASON HIGHS
Team Highs - Batting
Runs 9
vs. Long Beach State (2/6)
at Texas Tech (2/12)
Hits 17
at Loyola Marymount (2/8)
at Texas Tech (2/12)
Home Runs 3
vs. Pepperdine (1/30)
vs. LMU (2/8)
at Texas Tech (2/13)
at Cal State Fullerton (2/15)
Individual Highs - Batting
Hits 5 Anthony Lunetta vs. Pepperdine (1/29)Home Runs 2 Beau Craig at Texas Tech (2/13), Brian Barre at Cal State Fullerton (2/15)
RBI 3 Beau Craig vs. Pepperdine (1/30) Justin Gemoll vs. LMU (2/8) Beau Craig at Texas Tech (2/13)
Runs 2 several players
Stolen Bases 1 several players
Individual Highs - Pitching
Innings 8 1/3 Mark Prior at Texas Tech (2/11)Strikeouts 8 Rik Currier vs. Pepperdine (1/30) Mark Prior vs. LBSU (2/4)
USC in 2000
1-run games 2-1 2-run games 0-0 4-run games 2-0 5+ run games 3-2USC scores first 6-2 Opponent scores first 1-1
Day games 4-3 Night games 3-0
Extra innings 1-0
USC ahead after 5 innings 5-1 USC behind after 5 innings 1-2 Tied after 5 innings 1-0
USC ahead after 8 innings 6-1 USC behind after 8 innings 0-2 Tied after 8 innings 1-0
Against top 10 teams 1-0 Against top 25 teams 3-1
USC scores 10+ runs 0-0 Opponent scores 10+ runs 0-2
USC has 0-9 hits 2-3 USC has 10+ hits 5-0
USC has more hits 6-1 Opponent has more hits 0-2 Hits are equal 1-0
USC hits 0 home runs 1-2 USC hits 1 home run 3-0 USC hits 2+ home runs 3-1
USC makes 0 errors 5-0 USC makes 1 error 1-1 USC makes 2+ errors 1-2
USC has more errors 0-3 Opponent has more errors 3-0 Errors are equal 3-0
USC draws more walks 3-1 Opponent draws more walks 3-2 Walks are equal 1-0
On Mondays 0-0 On Tuesdays 2-0 On Wednesdays 0-0 On Fridays 1-1 On Saturdays 2-1 On Sundays 2-1
In January 2-0 In February 5-3 In March 0-0 In April 0-0 In May 0-0
Wearing white jerseys 4-0 Wearing red jerseys 2-1 Wearing grey jerseys 1-2 Wearing black jerseys 0-0
