University Southern California Trojans
Friday, February 21
San Diego, Calif.
1:00 PM
USC
vs
Seattle
Players Mentioned
OF
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LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C/1B
/ Baseball
INF
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C/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
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INF
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RHP/1B
/ Baseball
Photo by: Katie Chin
Trojans Head South for Tony Gwynn Classic
February 19, 2020 | Baseball, Features
THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team hits the road for three games at the Tony Gwynn Classic, hosted by San Diego State. The Trojans will take on Seattle on Friday, Southern Illinois on Saturday and then San Diego State on Sunday. All three games will be played at Tony Gwynn Stadium on the SDSU campus.
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GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday vs. Seattle (San Diego, Calif.), Feb. 21, 1 p.m. (USC Audio)
Saturday vs. Southern Illinois (San Diego, Calif.), Feb. 22, 1 p.m. (USC Audio)
Sunday at San Diego State (San Diego, Calif.), Feb. 23, 2 p.m. (USC Audio/SDSU Stream)
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BROADCAST INFO: All three games will have audio streams via Tune in radio and Sunday's game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network by SDSU. Links to all of the broadcasts are available on the baseball schedule page at USCTrojans.com.
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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. A full tournament schedule is available at goaztecs.com.
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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_baseball on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.
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A NEW ERA BEGINS: The Trojans open the 2020 season with a new manager at the helm in collegiate coaching veteran Jason Gill. Gill was hired this past June to replace Dan Hubbs, whose contract was not renewed after seven seasons. A 25-year veteran of the college coaching ranks, Gill is the fifth USC head coach since the famed Rod Dedeaux retired in 1986. He comes to USC after 11 years at the helm for Loyola Marymount and a postseason run into the finals of the UCLA regional last season.
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SERIES VS SEATTLE: USC leads 2-0 | Last meeting: 1954 | Note: The only two meetings between the teams came in the District Playoffs in 1953 and 1954.
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SERIES VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: USC leads 4-1 | Last meeting: 1974 | Note: All five matchups between the teams have come in the College World Series. USC beat SIU in the final games of both the 1968 and 1971 tournaments, with the teams playing twice in both the 1971 and 1974 tournaments. USC's lone loss came early in the 1971 CWS before the Trojans came back to beat SIU in the final.
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SERIES VS SDSU: USC leads 60-26-3 | Last meeting: 2015 | Note: The teams have not played in the regular season since 2015, but did play an exhibition in the fall of 2018. The 2015 meeting was a 12-11 USC win in the Lake Elsinore Regional.
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LAST WEEK: The Trojans took 2-of-3 games from Western Michigan to open the season at home this past weekend. USC won the opener and finale, scoring 35 runs on 41 hits over the course of the weekend.
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PLAYER NOTES:
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Including defending national champs Vanderbilt, USC faces seven teams that made it to the 2019 postseason this year (TCU, Stanford, Cal, Oregon State, Arizona State and UCLA). Four Trojan opponents finished last year in the Top 25 (Vanderbilt-No. 1, UCLA-No. 8, Stanford-No. 10, Oregon State-No. 23) and two others were receiving votes at the end of the year (Arizona State, Cal). Of the Trojans' 24 opponents, 13 finished with records better than .500.
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TOP PROSPECTS: D1Baseball.com released its Pac-12 prospect rankings and impact freshmen lists, and nine USC baseball players were named to the lists. The prospect rankings included lists for the 2020 and 2021 drafts, to go along with the Top 30 impact freshmen in the conference. In addition, Kyle Hurt was named the No. 98 draft prospect nationally by MLB Pipeline.
2020 Draft Prospects: No. 14 – RHP Kyle Hurt, No. 17 – RHP Chandler Champlain, No. 20 – SS Ben Ramirez, No. 23 – 3B Jamal O'Guinn, No. 39 – LHP Alex Cornwell, No. 50 – LHP John Beller
2021 Draft Prospects: No. 26 – RHP Carson Lambert, No. 38 – OF Preston Hartsell
Impact Freshmen: No. 29 – OF/INF Tyresse Turner
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DRAFTED: The Trojans lost seven players to last year's MLB Draft, and had one more sign as a free agent immediately following the draft. Chris Clarke was taken in the fourth round by the Cubs, Blake Sabol in the seventh round by the Pirates, CJ Stubbs in the 10th round by the Astros, Connor Lunn in the 11th round by the Cardinals, Matthew Acosta in the 12th round by the Padres, Austin Manning in the 19th round by the Royals and Augie Sylk in the 38th round by the Royals. Chase Bushor also signed as a free agent with the Royals. It was the most players selected for the Trojans since 12 USC players were taken in the 2016 draft.
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LAST YEAR: The Trojans went 25-29-1 overall last year and 13-15-1 in conference play, finishing seventh in the Pac-12 and missing the postseason.
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USC TO THE MLB: No other school can claim a larger number of alumni who have made it to the big leagues, with 114 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, 340 Trojans have been selected in the MLB Draft.
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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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GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday vs. Seattle (San Diego, Calif.), Feb. 21, 1 p.m. (USC Audio)
Saturday vs. Southern Illinois (San Diego, Calif.), Feb. 22, 1 p.m. (USC Audio)
Sunday at San Diego State (San Diego, Calif.), Feb. 23, 2 p.m. (USC Audio/SDSU Stream)
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BROADCAST INFO: All three games will have audio streams via Tune in radio and Sunday's game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network by SDSU. Links to all of the broadcasts are available on the baseball schedule page at USCTrojans.com.
Â
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. A full tournament schedule is available at goaztecs.com.
Â
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_baseball on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.
Â
A NEW ERA BEGINS: The Trojans open the 2020 season with a new manager at the helm in collegiate coaching veteran Jason Gill. Gill was hired this past June to replace Dan Hubbs, whose contract was not renewed after seven seasons. A 25-year veteran of the college coaching ranks, Gill is the fifth USC head coach since the famed Rod Dedeaux retired in 1986. He comes to USC after 11 years at the helm for Loyola Marymount and a postseason run into the finals of the UCLA regional last season.
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SERIES VS SEATTLE: USC leads 2-0 | Last meeting: 1954 | Note: The only two meetings between the teams came in the District Playoffs in 1953 and 1954.
Â
SERIES VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: USC leads 4-1 | Last meeting: 1974 | Note: All five matchups between the teams have come in the College World Series. USC beat SIU in the final games of both the 1968 and 1971 tournaments, with the teams playing twice in both the 1971 and 1974 tournaments. USC's lone loss came early in the 1971 CWS before the Trojans came back to beat SIU in the final.
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SERIES VS SDSU: USC leads 60-26-3 | Last meeting: 2015 | Note: The teams have not played in the regular season since 2015, but did play an exhibition in the fall of 2018. The 2015 meeting was a 12-11 USC win in the Lake Elsinore Regional.
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LAST WEEK: The Trojans took 2-of-3 games from Western Michigan to open the season at home this past weekend. USC won the opener and finale, scoring 35 runs on 41 hits over the course of the weekend.
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PLAYER NOTES:
- After battling through injuries the past two seasons, Alex Cornwell impressed in his debut on the mound, throwing 5.2 innings against Western Michigan on Sunday. He picked up the win giving up three hits and two runs while striking out six batters and walking two.
- Johnny Olmstead had an explosive start to his collegiate career, hitting a pinch-hit grand slam against Western Michigan in his first ever at-bat as a Trojan.
- Ben Ramirez posted the first two-homer game of his career, hitting two balls off the right field scoreboard against the Broncos. He led the team with five RBI on the opening weekend.
- Freshman Ethan Hoopingarner looked strong in the first two appearances of his career, striking out seven of the nine batters he faced while walking none in 3.0 perfect innings.
- Isaac Esqueda threw 5.0 scoreless innings in his first start of the season, striking out six and walking two.
- Brady Shockey, Clay Owens and Ben Ramirez all had five hits to lead the team on opening weekend.
- Grad transfer Ben Wanger leads the team in average after one week of play, going 4-for-6 against Western Michigan. He drove in one run and scored twice.
- Jamal O'Guinn hit .571 opening weekend, walking four times and hitting two doubles.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Including defending national champs Vanderbilt, USC faces seven teams that made it to the 2019 postseason this year (TCU, Stanford, Cal, Oregon State, Arizona State and UCLA). Four Trojan opponents finished last year in the Top 25 (Vanderbilt-No. 1, UCLA-No. 8, Stanford-No. 10, Oregon State-No. 23) and two others were receiving votes at the end of the year (Arizona State, Cal). Of the Trojans' 24 opponents, 13 finished with records better than .500.
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TOP PROSPECTS: D1Baseball.com released its Pac-12 prospect rankings and impact freshmen lists, and nine USC baseball players were named to the lists. The prospect rankings included lists for the 2020 and 2021 drafts, to go along with the Top 30 impact freshmen in the conference. In addition, Kyle Hurt was named the No. 98 draft prospect nationally by MLB Pipeline.
2020 Draft Prospects: No. 14 – RHP Kyle Hurt, No. 17 – RHP Chandler Champlain, No. 20 – SS Ben Ramirez, No. 23 – 3B Jamal O'Guinn, No. 39 – LHP Alex Cornwell, No. 50 – LHP John Beller
2021 Draft Prospects: No. 26 – RHP Carson Lambert, No. 38 – OF Preston Hartsell
Impact Freshmen: No. 29 – OF/INF Tyresse Turner
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DRAFTED: The Trojans lost seven players to last year's MLB Draft, and had one more sign as a free agent immediately following the draft. Chris Clarke was taken in the fourth round by the Cubs, Blake Sabol in the seventh round by the Pirates, CJ Stubbs in the 10th round by the Astros, Connor Lunn in the 11th round by the Cardinals, Matthew Acosta in the 12th round by the Padres, Austin Manning in the 19th round by the Royals and Augie Sylk in the 38th round by the Royals. Chase Bushor also signed as a free agent with the Royals. It was the most players selected for the Trojans since 12 USC players were taken in the 2016 draft.
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LAST YEAR: The Trojans went 25-29-1 overall last year and 13-15-1 in conference play, finishing seventh in the Pac-12 and missing the postseason.
Â
USC TO THE MLB: No other school can claim a larger number of alumni who have made it to the big leagues, with 114 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, 340 Trojans have been selected in the MLB Draft.
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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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