With their backs against the wall, the Trojans came out fighting on Saturday afternoon in Lake Elsinore, pasting No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara 12-3 led by Stubbs, who went 3-4 with an RBI double. The team leader is now 5/7 plus two walks in the postseason."This could be my last game ever in a Trojan uniform, but I try not to think about that kind of stuff," Stubbs acknowledged the tenuous nature of his USC career. "This team is really, really good, and I think we showed it at the end of the game here."
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Stubbs opened the scoring with an RBI double high off the right field "monster" in the 3rd inning, giving USC its first lead of the NCAA Regional. He drove in another run with a single in the 7th.
Junior starter Kyle Twomey took it from there, giving up three runs on seven hits over 7.1 innings to claim the victory. While the bullpen made things interesting for a minute, Tyler Gilbert settled down the Gauchos with a huge strikeout to strand the bases loaded in the 8th.
"I was very nervous," Gilbert admitted about coming into a chaotic situation with the bases loaded and a 2-0 count on the hitter. "I think that kind of helped me in a way, just focus up and throw the ball over the plate."
After Gilbert's heroics, the offense turned a 5-3 game into a 12-3 blowout. After going 1/21 in Friday's loss, USC's 4-9 hitters broke out for eight hits and eight RBI, highlighted by SS Reggie Southall (2/3 with 3 runs scored), RF A.J. Ramirez (3-run double) and 3B Blake Lacey (2/4 with 2 RBI).
The Trojans will live to play another day, but the test is even greater on Sunday. Having sent home No. 1 seed UCSB, USC will face either Virginia or San Diego State in the first game of a doubleheader tomorrow at 3 p.m. If the Trojans win, they will face the winner of UVA/SDSU in the second game on Sunday at 7 p.m. Even with a doubleheader sweep, USC will have one more game to win on Monday to advance to the Super Regionals.
While the odds are still stacked against them, Stubbs (pictured) and his team are willing to do whatever it takes to keep this season and his USC career going.
