Saturday, March 9
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM
USC
5-8
4
vs
1
Michigan
9-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Michigan
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
1
USC
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
X
4
7
1
USC Outduels No. 16 Michigan 4-1 Behind Stellar Pitching
March 09, 2019 | Baseball, Features
LOS ANGELES – Isaac Esqueda and Connor Lunn combined on the mound to hold No. 16 Michigan in check and the USC bats came through in the clutch as the Trojans picked up a much-needed 4-1 win on Saturday night.
Esqueda tossed 5.0 strong innings, giving up just one unearned run to pick up the win, and Lunn threw a perfect final four frames to get the save and move USC to 5-8 on the year. Michigan falls to 9-3 with the loss.
Esqueda ran into his first bit of trouble in the sixth after giving up a couple of base hits and seeing Michigan score on a throwing error. A walk put runners on first and second and Head Coach Dan Hubbs went to the pen for Lunn. After a double steal moved both runners into scoring position, Lunn struck out the next two batters and got a dribbler back to the mound to preserve the 2-1 lead.
USC struck first with two runs in the fourth, getting a run-scoring groundout from Tyler Lozano and RBI single from Tyler Pritchard. The Trojans would tack on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, when Jamal O'Guinn hit a sacrifice fly and Preston Hartsell singled home one more.
Lunn did more than his part shutting down the Wolverines down the stretch, mowing down the final nine batters of the game after his clutch sixth inning. Esqueda was equally as brilliant in the early-going as he faced the minimum through four innings, getting a double-play and pickoff to erase the lone baserunners. The Trojan arms outdueled Michigan's Karl Kaufmann, who entered the game with a 0.78 ERA and 3-0 record. Kaufmann threw 7.0 innings, giving up five hits and two runs to pick up his first loss of the season.
TOP PERFORMERS
COMING UP
The Trojans close the weekend by facing No. 2 UCLA at Dodger Stadium on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Esqueda tossed 5.0 strong innings, giving up just one unearned run to pick up the win, and Lunn threw a perfect final four frames to get the save and move USC to 5-8 on the year. Michigan falls to 9-3 with the loss.
Esqueda ran into his first bit of trouble in the sixth after giving up a couple of base hits and seeing Michigan score on a throwing error. A walk put runners on first and second and Head Coach Dan Hubbs went to the pen for Lunn. After a double steal moved both runners into scoring position, Lunn struck out the next two batters and got a dribbler back to the mound to preserve the 2-1 lead.
USC struck first with two runs in the fourth, getting a run-scoring groundout from Tyler Lozano and RBI single from Tyler Pritchard. The Trojans would tack on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, when Jamal O'Guinn hit a sacrifice fly and Preston Hartsell singled home one more.
Lunn did more than his part shutting down the Wolverines down the stretch, mowing down the final nine batters of the game after his clutch sixth inning. Esqueda was equally as brilliant in the early-going as he faced the minimum through four innings, getting a double-play and pickoff to erase the lone baserunners. The Trojan arms outdueled Michigan's Karl Kaufmann, who entered the game with a 0.78 ERA and 3-0 record. Kaufmann threw 7.0 innings, giving up five hits and two runs to pick up his first loss of the season.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Isaac Esqueda threw 5.0 innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and three walks, while striking out a career high six batters.
- Connor Lunn tossed a perfect 4.0 final innings, stranding two inherited runners and striking out three along the way.
- Preston Hartsell picked up his first career hit and RBI in his first collegiate start, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
- Tyler Pritchard, making his second start of the year, was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
COMING UP
The Trojans close the weekend by facing No. 2 UCLA at Dodger Stadium on Sunday at 3 p.m.
A well-deserved bath for tonight's starter!#FightOn pic.twitter.com/Ef9pdPvuOV
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) March 10, 2019
Also hear from Head Coach @DanHubbs40 after an all-around solid performance from his club.#FightOn pic.twitter.com/aZsfikWehT
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) March 10, 2019
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Esqueda, Isaac (1-0)
L: Karl Kauffmann (3-1)
S: Acker, Charles (1)
Batting:
2B: Joe Donovan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Joe Donovan 1
SB: Ako Thomas 1 ; Jack Blomgren 1
CS: Jordan Brewer 1
PO: Jordan Brewer 1
Batting:
RBI: O'Guinn, Jamal 1 ; Hartsell, Preston 1 ; Lozano, Tyler 1 ; Pritchard, Tyler 1
SF: O'Guinn, Jamal 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wanger, Ben 1 ; Beller, John 1 ; O'Guinn, Jamal 1 ; Hartsell, Preston 1
SB: Beller, John 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C/INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
INF
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