USC Hosts No. 2 Stanford This Weekend

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball returns home to host a three-game Pac-12 series against No. 2 Stanford starting on Friday.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday vs. Stanford (Dedeaux Field), May 3, 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Saturday vs. Stanford (Dedeaux Field), May 4, 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Sunday vs. Stanford (Dedeaux Field), May 5, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Friday | USC: RHP Connor Lunn (6-1, 2.23 ERA) vs. STAN: RHP Brendan Beck (3-3, 2.52 ERA)
Saturday | USC: LHP Isaac Esqueda (3-3, 3.98 ERA) vs. STAN: RHP Will Matthiessen (4-1, 3.62 ERA)
Sunday | USC: TBA vs. STAN: LHP Erik Miller (6-0, 2.60 ERA)

BROADCAST INFO: All three games will be broadcast by the Pac-12 Network. 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 TIME OUT: The Trojans went 2-1 against Cal Poly on the road last weekend, winning the opener and then coming back to win the finale with 10 runs in the final three innings.

SERIES VS STANFORD: USC leads 220-187-2 (.540) | first meeting: 1923 | last year: Stanford won all three games in Palo Alto.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Trojans came back from a 5-1 deficit last weekend against Cal Poly, scoring 10 runs in the final three innings. USC has three wins when trailing after the seventh inning and is 4-1 when tied after seven innings of play.

HIT PARADE: The Trojan offense has been putting the ball in play on a consistent basis over its last 15 games, with USC averaging 11.6 hits per game, failing to reach double-digit hit totals just three times during that span. The Trojans have scored 104 runs (6.9 per game) over the last 15 games and have raised their team average 26 points to .276 during that span. USC is third in the Pac-12 with 396 hits this season.

LUNN'S DOMINANCE: Since moving from his closer role and taking over the Friday starter position in the rotation, RHP Connor Lunn has been dominant. He is 5-1 since making his first start of the season against Cal (3/15) and has allowed just one run in his last 21.0 innings pitched. He has yet to go less than 6.0 innings in a start and tossed a complete-game shutout against Washington State (4/18). Lunn also came one out away from a complete game against No. 1 UCLA on 3/29 and pitched 6.0 innings of a one-hitter against Utah on 4/11. Overall, Lunn comes in with a 6-1 record and 2.23 ERA, to go along with one save.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: According to BoydsWorld.com, USC's schedule is the fifth toughest in the country. The Trojans have six wins over Top 50 RPI teams and nine against Top 100 RPI squads. USC opponents currently have a .582 winning percentage.

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.
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. He also came off the bench to drive in two runs with a single against Washington state on 4/20, sparking a five-run rally in the ninth to force extra innings.
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.
USC's series victory over then-No. 7 Arizona State was its first over a Top 10 team since 2015.
The Trojans one-hit Utah on 4/11, getting 6.0 innings from starter Connor Lunn, 1.0 from Carson Lambert and the final 2.0 from Austin Manning to pick up a 6-0 win. Lunn struck out a career-high nine batters. The win was the first combined one-hitter for USC since 2013.
Matthew Acosta has had a knack for spectacular catches this season, robbing ASU's Spencer Torkelson of a homer and then laying out for a diving catch against UC Irvine.
CJ Stubbs currently has a 14 game on-base streak. He also owns the longest hitting streak of the year at 11.
Matthew Acosta is currently on an eight game hitting streak.

STAT RANKINGS
TEAM:

Hits (396) - 3rd Pac-12
Assists (445) - 1st Pac-12
Runners Caught Stealing (16) - T-1st Pac-12

PITCHING:

Earned Run Avg - Connor Lunn (2.23) - 4th Pac-12
Saves - Chris Clarke (5) - T-3rd Pac-12
Opposing Bat Avg - Connor Lunn (.172) - 2nd Pac-12
Innings Pitched - Connor Lunn (60.2) - T-10th Pac-12
Wins - Connor Lunn (6) - T-5th Pac-12
Fewest Earned Runs - Connor Lunn (15) - T-6th Pac-12
Fewest Hits Allowed - Connor Lunn (37) - T-5th Pac-12
Fewest Doubles Allowed - Connor Lunn (5) - T-2nd Pac-12

FIELDING:

Assists - Chase Bushor (120) - 1st Pac-12
Runners Caught Stealing - CJ Stubbs (10) - 3rd Pac-12
Fielding Double Plays - Chase Bushor (28) - 3rd Pac-12

BATTING:

Hit By Pitch - CJ Stubbs (9) - T-3rd Pac-12
Sac Bunts - Chase Bushor (7) - T-4th Pac-12
Stolen Bases - Blake Sabol (10) - T-7th Pac-12
Plate Appearances - Blake Sabol (206) - 5th 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: 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.

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

Carson Lambert

Connor Lunn

Austin Manning

Lars Nootbaar

Clay Owens

Dillon Paulson

Brandon Perez

Ben Ramirez

Blake Sabol

Brady Shockey

CJ Stubbs

John Thomas