Trojans Travel to Utah then Host Pepperdine

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team hits the road for three Pac-12 games at Utah starting on Thursday and then returns home to host Pepperdine on Tuesday.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Thursday at Utah (Smith's Ballpark), April 11, 5 p.m. (PT)(Pac-12 Network/USC Audio)
Friday at Utah (Smith's Ballpark), April 12, 10:30 a.m. (PT)(Pac-12 Network/USC Audio)
Saturday at Utah (Smith's Ballpark), April 13, 10:30 a.m. (PT)(Pac-12 Network/USC Audio)
Tuesday vs. Pepperdine (Dedeaux Field), April 16, 6 p.m. (Pac-12+ Stream)

BROADCAST INFO: All three games at Utah will be televised on the Pac-12 Network and will also have a USC audio stream available on USCTrojans.com. Tuesday's game will be streamed live via Pac-12+. Links to all of the broadcasts are available on the baseball schedule page at USCTrojans.com.

FOLLOW: Fans can also follow the action through live stats on USCTrojans.com. Live, in-game updates will be available from @USC_Baseball on Twitter as well.

GET SOCIAL: Follow USC Baseball on social media to get updates on everything going on with the team this season. The Trojans can be found at @USC_Baseball on Twitter, @sctrojans on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.

LAST WEEK: USC won three of four games at home last week, taking two of three over the weekend from No. 13 Arizona State and then beating Cal State Fullerton 6-5 on Tuesday.

POWERING PAST ASU: The Trojans won the opening two games of the series against ASU behind a potent offensive attack, scoring 17 runs on 26 hits in the opening two games. USC then matched its season high for hits with 15 in the finale. Matthew Acosta had the most notable individual numbers, with six hits and seven RBI, including two homers. Acosta also robbed Spencer Torkelson of a three-run homer in the opener.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: According to the NCAA's strength of schedule index, USC has the toughest schedule in the nation, with opponents owning a .660 winning percentage. The Trojans have four wins over Top 50 RPI teams and eight against Top 100 RPI squads.

SERIES VS UTAH: USC leads 20-10 (.667) | first meeting: 1951 | Last year: Trojans won 2-of-3 at home.

SERIES VS PEPP: USC leads 92-45-1 | first meeting: 1943 | last meeting: split season series, 1-1, in 2016.

SEASON QUICK HITS:

The Trojans have two walk-off wins on the season. CJ Stubbs hit a walk-off homer against Arkansas in the 10th inning of the series finale and the Trojans beat Omaha on opening day thanks to a ninth-inning RBI-single from Brandon Perez.
Blake Sabol hit a home run on the first pitch of the game at Dodger Stadium against UCLA.
Blake Sabol owns the longest hitting streak of the season for USC at eight games (3/17-3/30).
CJ Stubbs has been clutch this year, hitting a walk-off two-run homer against Arkansas in the 10th on 2/23, a game-tying solo-homer against Cal on 3/15 and a game-winning three-run triple in the 10th inning against LBSU on 3/26.
Kyle Hurt struck out a career-high 10 batters in 8.0 innings against Washington on 3/24. He is the first Trojan since Kyle Davis in 2016 to strike out at least 10 batters in a game.
RHP Connor Lunn nearly tossed a complete game against No. 1 UCLA in the series opener, picking up the win and throwing a career-high 8.2 innings.
USC came back from a 5-1 deficit against Cal State Fullerton, scoring five runs in the eighth inning against the Titans. Jamal O'Guinn drove in the winning runs with a three-run double.
USC's series victory over then-No. 7 Arizona State was its first over a Top 10 team since 2015.

STAT RANKINGS
TEAM:

Triples (8) - 3rd Pac-12
Pickoffs (6) - T-1st Pac-12
Double-plays (26) - 3rd Pac-12, 46th NCAA

BATTING:

Sac Bunts - Chase Bushor (7) - T-4th Pac-12, 20th NCAA
Sac Flies - Jamal O'Guinn (4) - T-3rd Pac-12
Stolen Bases - Blake Sabol (8) - T-6th Pac-12
Matthew Acosta (7) - T-8th Pac-12

PITCHING:

Strikeouts - Kyle Hurt (41) - T-7th Pac-12
Saves - Chris Clarke (3) - T-5th Pac-12
Opp BA - Connor Lunn (.197) - 3rd Pac-12
Pickoffs - Isaac Esqueda (2) - T-2nd Pac-12

FIELDING:

Assists - Chase Bushor (99) - 1st Pac-12
Runners Caught Stealing - CJ Stubbs (8) - T-2nd Pac-12
Double Plays - Chase Bushor (22) - 4th Pac-12
Brandon Perez (17) - T-6th Pac-12

DODGER STADIUM CLASSIC: USC once again played in the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic, falling to then-No. 2 UCLA 7-5 on March 10 in Chavez Ravine. Leading up to the final at Dodger Stadium, the Trojans lost at home to Oklahoma State 11-6 on March 8 and beat then-No. 16 Michigan 4-1 at home on March 9. Michigan and Oklahoma State played at Dodger Stadium prior to the Trojans and Bruins on March 10, with Oklahoma State coming out on top 3-2. The Trojans and Bruins are now 4-4 against each other at Dodger Stadium since 2010.

THE ROSTER: The Trojans return 25 players from last year's roster and welcome a total of 10 newcomers heading into the season. The team has 3 seniors, 11 juniors (2 RS), 11 sophomores (1 RS) and 10 freshmen (1 RS). There are 17 pitchers (8 left, 9 right) and 18 position players.

THE SCHEDULE: USC plays its first 13 games at Dedeaux Field before facing UCLA at Dodger Stadium before finally hitting the road for the first time in the third week of March. The Trojans play 32 games at home and 24 games on the road this season. The 56 game slate features seven teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year and three that were in the College World Series, including both of the teams from the championship final, Arkansas and Oregon State.

STOPPER WATCH: Connor Lunn was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year (given to the top reliever in college baseball each year) watch list early this season. Lunn was the Trojans' closer all of 2018, leading the team with eight saves over the course of 30.1 innings pitched and 22 total relief appearances. The junior righty boasted a 2.97 ERA while striking out 32 batters and walking just nine last season.

RECRUITING CLASS: The Trojans welcomed the 14th ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Baseball America and the 16th ranked class according to Perfect Game. Perfect Game also had the USC class as the highest rated class on the West Coast. D1baseball.com had the Trojan class ranked No. 21.

SUMMER BALL: 14 Trojans spread our across the country to play summer ball this offseason, with four playing in the famed Cape Cod League (Blake Sabol, Kyle Hurt, Connor Lunn, Ben Ramirez). Four USC players earned All-Star or All-League honors in their respective leagues; Sabol (Chatham Anglers, Cape Cod League), John Thomas (Arroyo Seco Saints, California Collegiate League), Chris Clarke (Bethesda Big Train, Cal Ripken Collegiate League) and Brady Shockey (Palm Springs Power, Southern California Collegiate League). Sabol especially stood out as one of the top prospects in the Cape and even made an appearance in the league's home run derby. He was named to the Perfect Game Collegiate Summer All-American second team.

PROSPECT RANKINGS: In the latest D1Baseball prospect rankings for the next two draft classes, four Trojans were ranked. In the 2019 draft class (350 ranked), Kyle Hurt is the 53rd ranked prospect, Blake Sabol is 63rd and Chris Clarke is 324. In the 2020 class (150 ranked), Chandler Champlain is 64th.

IMPACT FRESHMEN: D1Baseball ranked the Top 100 impact freshmen in college baseball and three USC rookies were ranked. Chandler Champlain is ranked No. 11, Preston Hartsell No. 91 and Clay Owens No. 94.

ALL-PAC-12 RETURNERS: The Trojans bring back a trio of players who earned All Pac-12 honorable mention last year, with Connor Lunn, Chase Bushor and Blake Sabol all returning to this year's squad. Lunn led the team with eight saves and had a 2.97 ERA, Bushor was second on the team with a .301 average and Sabol drove in 24 runs with 14 extra-base hits last year.

DRAFTED: The Trojans had a trio of players selected in last year's MLB Draft. RHP Solomon Bates was taken in the eighth round (226 overall) by the San Francisco Giants, OF Lars Nootbaar was also selected in the eighth round by the St. Louis Cardinals (243 overall) and 1B Dillon Paulson was taken in the 13th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

USC TO THE MLB: No other school can claim a larger number of alumni who have made it to the big leagues, with 113 Trojans having played in the MLB. The list includes three Trojans who have made it to the MLB Hall of Fame (Randy Johnson, Tom Seaver, Pat Gillick), nine Cy Young Awards (Johnson 5 times, Seaver 3 times, Barry Zito once), three Rookie of the Years (Seaver, Fred Lynn, Mark McGwire), one American League MVP (Lynn), one World Series MVP (Johnson), 29 World Series appearances and 67 All-Star Game appearances. In all, 333 Trojans have been selected in the MLB Draft.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Trojans have an unparalleled history of championship success at the College World Series, winning 12 total national titles (1948, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1998). The 12 titles are double any other team in the country and were won in 21 CWS appearances by the Trojans. USC won five straight NCAA Championships from 1970-74, a feat no other program has accomplished.

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Acosta

Solomon Bates

Chase Bushor

Chandler Champlain

Chris Clarke

Isaac Esqueda

Preston Hartsell

Kyle Hurt

Connor Lunn

Lars Nootbaar

Jamal O'Guinn

Clay Owens

Dillon Paulson

Brandon Perez

Ben Ramirez

Blake Sabol

Brady Shockey

CJ Stubbs

John Thomas