Celebrate the 8s: 1998

USC's 12th and most recent College World Series title came in 1998 under the vision and guidance of head coach, and now USC Athletics Hall of Famer, Mike Gillespie.

Despite Gillespie's esteemed tenure at USC, 1998 was his sole national championship, and he is forever proud of those players that reached the pinnacle of college baseball.

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"If there are people that really follow and know college baseball, you have to realize how great this team was," Gillespie said. "We had household names, but there were more that were really good college players. We had really good depth with quality at every position. That team played its best in the playoff stretch."

After Washington claimed the Pac-10 Conference title, the Trojans turned up the heat for the NCAA East Regional in Clemson, South Carolina. After beating Fordham in their first game, the Trojans lost to Virginia Commonwealth. Putting the loss in the rearview mirror, the team beat Clemson and South Alabama twice, punching a ticket to the College World Series in Omaha.

The Trojans suffered an opening round loss to the defending champion LSU Tigers (12-10), forcing the team to win four straight games to reach the championship.

With a Game 1 loss, two other SEC powerhouses awaited the Trojans in elimination games. First, USC defeated the Florida Gators in an 11-inning thriller.

Gillespie recalls a tie game, bases loaded situation that he is particularly proud of. With a 3-2 count and the season hanging on by a thread, pitching coach John Savage called a changeup, a risky and unusual pitch in this situation, in order to throw the batter off. The pitch resulted in a groundout to end the inning and the Trojans went on to win 12-10.

After taking care of Mississippi State with a 7-1 victory, the Trojans faced a rematch with LSU, needing to beat the Tigers twice to reach the final.

Winning a 5-4 nail biter in game one and a 7-3 ballgame in the second matchup, the Trojans eliminated LSU behind the arms of Seth Etherton and Mike Penney to launch themselves into the title game against Arizona State.

USC went 3-3 against the Sun Devils during the regular season, getting swept in a lopsided series in Tempe to end the season series. Gillespie knew this game would be a battle, and his club came ready.

In a slugfest for the ages, the Trojans relied on their bats to defeat the Sun Devils by a football score of 21-14.

The fireworks started in the first inning as the Trojans put up six runs behind a three run homerun by first baseman Rob Gorr. After a Wes Rachels homerun to make it 8-0, the Sun Devils scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning to tighten the game up.

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In the seventh inning, with the score 11-8 in favor of the Trojans, Gillespie called one of the riskiest plays in College World Series history. With the bases loaded, Gillespie called for a triple steal, allowing Morgan Ensberg to steal home.

"Nobody thinks it makes any sense to steal home with two strikes because all the pitcher has to do is throw a strike," Gillespie said. "That play in my mind stands out as the single most memorable play in my career."

The Trojans would score two more runs in that inning, seemingly locking up the title. Yet, the Sun Devils would not go quietly as they tacked on five runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Finally, in the ninth inning, Jason Lane hit a monstrous grand slam to center field, ending any potential Sun Devil comeback. Lane not only recorded 2 hits and 4 RBIs in the title game, but pitched 2 1/3 innings as well.

Other Trojan standouts included Wes Rachels, who recorded 5 hits and 7 RBIs in the title game and was named MVP of the College World Series. Closer Jack Krawczyk closed the game out with a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, earning a "fearless" reputation from Gillespie.

The Trojans became the first team since Arizona in 1980 to lose their opening round game and still bring home the title.

The 1998 team, along with the four other USC baseball teams to win championships in years ending in 8 (1948, 1958, 1968, 1978) will be honored at next month's College World Series in Omaha.

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