USC baseball dropped its first series of the season against crosstown rival UCLA this weekend, causing the Trojans to slip in the national rankings to No. 10.
In the first game of the series, the Bruins' bats proved to be too much as they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead that the Trojans could never overcome. Redshirt junior Bobby Stahel did however help the Trojans out with his second home run of the season, but it was not enough as USC fell to UCLA 9-3.
In the first game of the series, the Bruins' bats proved to be too much as they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead that the Trojans could never overcome. Redshirt junior Bobby Stahel did however help the Trojans out with his second home run of the season, but it was not enough as USC fell to UCLA 9-3.
Saturday's game closed the Ultimate USC Sports Day, which featured the USC Spring Game, a women's water polo victory and the 35th annual Swim with Mike. This time, USC jumped out to the early advantage with Dante Flores' two-out double to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Stahel extended the lead and his hitting streak to 16 games in the bottom of the second with a massive 2-run home run followed by an RBI single in the sixth to give the Trojans a 5-0 victory.
Sunday was poised to be the dramatic rubber match of the series, but yet again, the Bruins jumped all over the Trojan pitchers. The game was back-and-forth for awhile before UCLA took over in the sixth inning to lead 5-3. This score held until the Bruins opened things wide open in the top of the ninth to ultimately win 8-3. Continuing his consistent and impressive weekend, Stahel extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a double.
Stahel joins senior catcher Garrett Stubbs as an offensive team leader, building on his 2014 campaign where he appeared in 21 games and started just nine. The outfielder leads the Trojans in batting average, hitting .432 for the season in 34 starts. He also leads the team in hits, triples, and is tied for second in RBI.
Here are John McGillen's photos from Friday (top) and Sunday (bottom):
