Friday, March 6
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 PM
USC
vs
TCU
Players Mentioned
OF
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LHP
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INF
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RHP
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RHP
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LHP
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LHP
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LHP
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OF
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RHP
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RHP
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RHP
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LHP
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INF/OF
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INF
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C/1B
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INF
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C/OF
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RHP/1B
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Photo by: John McGillen
Baseball Set To Host No. 22 TCU, No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 6 UCLA This Weekend
March 04, 2020 | Baseball, Features
THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team plays host to the Southern California College Baseball Classic, welcoming No. 22 TCU (Friday), No. 2 Vanderbilt (Saturday) and No. 6 UCLA (Sunday) to Dedeaux Field. UCLA is co-hosting the tournament (formerly known as the Dodger Stadium Classic) on Friday and Saturday, with all four teams competing at Dedeaux Field on Sunday.
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GAME SCHEDULE (DEDEAUX FIELD GAMES):
Friday - USC vs. No. 22 TCU (Dedeaux Field), March 6, 6 p.m. (USC Live Stream)
Saturday - USC vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt (Dedeaux Field), March 7, 2 p.m. (USC Live Stream)
Sunday - No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 22 TCU (Dedeaux Field), March 8, 10 a.m. (Live Stats)
Sunday - USC vs. No. 6 UCLA (Dedeaux Field), March 8, 3 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
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BROADCAST INFO: The Trojans' Friday and Saturday games against TCU and Vanderbilt will be streamed live via the USC Live Stream. Sunday's game against the Bruins will be shown on Pac-12 Network. 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 for all games from @USC_Baseball on Twitter as well.
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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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SCCBC: The Southern California College Baseball Classic was formerly the Dodger Stadium Classic, but due to renovations at Chavez Ravine, the tournament had to be moved to campus sites only. The tournament is scheduled to be back at Dodger Stadium next year. This is the same field as the 2015 and 2018 Dodger Stadium Classics. UCLA will host Vanderbilt and TCU opposite of USC on Friday and Saturday.
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1970 CHAMPS: USC will honor the Trojans' 1970 NCAA Championship team this weekend, marking the 50th anniversary of USC's sixth College World Series title winning team. The 1970 alums will be honored prior to Sunday's game against UCLA. The alums will also have an event on Saturday and will be recognized at the USC basketball game against UCLA that afternoon. The 1970 champs, led by legendary coach Rod Dedeaux, went 45-13 that season, defeating Florida State 2-1 in the title game. It was the first of an unprecedented five straight titles for USC. See page 30 of the notes for more info on the 1970 team.
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SATURDAY DOUBLE FEATURE: The Trojans' men's basketball team will be playing UCLA on Saturday at the Galen Center starting at 12:15 p.m. Trojan fans who attend that game can use their ticket to also attend USC's baseball game against reigning NCAA Champions Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. for no additional charge.
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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 TCU: TCU leads 5-4 | Last meeting: 2018 | Notes: The teams last played in the Dodger Stadium Classic in 2018, with TCU picking up a 10-1 win.
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SERIES VS VANDERBILT: VU leads 3-1 | Last meeting: 2015 | Notes: Vanderbilt was in town for the 2018 Dodger Stadium Classic, but their game against the Trojans was rained out. USC won the last meeting between the teams, 6-5, in the 2015 Dodger Stadium Classic.
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SERIES VS UCLA: USC leads 263-143 | Last meeting: 2019 | Note: The crosstown classic was first played in 1928. UCLA won three of the four meetings last year. The two teams will play a conference series at UCLA (May 21-23) to close the year. Sunday's game this week will count as a non-conference matchup for the teams.
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LAST WEEK: The Trojans won 2-of-3 games against Seton Hall at home last weekend, dropping the opener before coming back to win the final two. USC then fell to UC Irvine, 5-1, on Tuesday, despite 6.0 no-hit innings from Brian Gursky.
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PLAYER NOTES:
TEAM 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 (DEDEAUX FIELD GAMES):
Friday - USC vs. No. 22 TCU (Dedeaux Field), March 6, 6 p.m. (USC Live Stream)
Saturday - USC vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt (Dedeaux Field), March 7, 2 p.m. (USC Live Stream)
Sunday - No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 22 TCU (Dedeaux Field), March 8, 10 a.m. (Live Stats)
Sunday - USC vs. No. 6 UCLA (Dedeaux Field), March 8, 3 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
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BROADCAST INFO: The Trojans' Friday and Saturday games against TCU and Vanderbilt will be streamed live via the USC Live Stream. Sunday's game against the Bruins will be shown on Pac-12 Network. 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 for all games from @USC_Baseball on Twitter as well.
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.
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SCCBC: The Southern California College Baseball Classic was formerly the Dodger Stadium Classic, but due to renovations at Chavez Ravine, the tournament had to be moved to campus sites only. The tournament is scheduled to be back at Dodger Stadium next year. This is the same field as the 2015 and 2018 Dodger Stadium Classics. UCLA will host Vanderbilt and TCU opposite of USC on Friday and Saturday.
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1970 CHAMPS: USC will honor the Trojans' 1970 NCAA Championship team this weekend, marking the 50th anniversary of USC's sixth College World Series title winning team. The 1970 alums will be honored prior to Sunday's game against UCLA. The alums will also have an event on Saturday and will be recognized at the USC basketball game against UCLA that afternoon. The 1970 champs, led by legendary coach Rod Dedeaux, went 45-13 that season, defeating Florida State 2-1 in the title game. It was the first of an unprecedented five straight titles for USC. See page 30 of the notes for more info on the 1970 team.
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SATURDAY DOUBLE FEATURE: The Trojans' men's basketball team will be playing UCLA on Saturday at the Galen Center starting at 12:15 p.m. Trojan fans who attend that game can use their ticket to also attend USC's baseball game against reigning NCAA Champions Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. for no additional charge.
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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 TCU: TCU leads 5-4 | Last meeting: 2018 | Notes: The teams last played in the Dodger Stadium Classic in 2018, with TCU picking up a 10-1 win.
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SERIES VS VANDERBILT: VU leads 3-1 | Last meeting: 2015 | Notes: Vanderbilt was in town for the 2018 Dodger Stadium Classic, but their game against the Trojans was rained out. USC won the last meeting between the teams, 6-5, in the 2015 Dodger Stadium Classic.
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SERIES VS UCLA: USC leads 263-143 | Last meeting: 2019 | Note: The crosstown classic was first played in 1928. UCLA won three of the four meetings last year. The two teams will play a conference series at UCLA (May 21-23) to close the year. Sunday's game this week will count as a non-conference matchup for the teams.
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LAST WEEK: The Trojans won 2-of-3 games against Seton Hall at home last weekend, dropping the opener before coming back to win the final two. USC then fell to UC Irvine, 5-1, on Tuesday, despite 6.0 no-hit innings from Brian Gursky.
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PLAYER NOTES:
- Brian Gursky tossed a career-high 6.0 no-hit innings against UC Irvine, giving up just an unearned run. He also struck out a career-best seven batters.
- After battling through injuries the past two seasons, Alex Cornwell impressed in his debut on the mound, throwing 5.2 innings against Western Michigan. He picked up the win giving up three hits and two runs while striking out six batters and walking two. Cornwell also had a strong outing against Seton Hall, tossing a season-high 6.0 innings, giving up one run.
- 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 also hit a key three-run triple to spark USC's comeback against San Diego State. Ramirez is second on the team with 9 RBI on the year.
- Grad transfer Ben Wanger leads the team and is 17th in the country and second in the Pac-12with a .484 batting average and has also posted 4.1 relief innings on the mound without an earned run. Wanger had a 4-for-4 day against Fullerton, hitting 3 doubles and driving in 3 runs. Wanger also has a .584 on-base percentage, good for 28th in the country, and a .677 slugging percentage.
- Clay Owens is tied for the team lead with 15 hits this year, leads the team with 13 RBI and is second with a .395 avg. His average is ninth in the Pac-12 and 13 RBI are sixth.
- Jamal O'Guinn has worked 12 free bases in 45 plate appearances to help him to a .533 on-base percentage. O'Guinn's nine walks are eighth in the Pac-12.
- In his first start this year, John Beller threw a season-high 7.0 shutout innings against Seton Hall, striking out six batters. Beller's 1.12 ERA is eight in the Pac-12 and his .140 opponent batting average is third in the league among qualifying pitchers.
- Freshman Rhylan Thomas has been a spark plug for the USC offense since being inserted in the leadoff spot, batting .394 which is good for 10th in the Pac-12.
- Freshman Tyresse Turner has also given USC a spark at the top of the lineup, currently sitting second in the Pac-12 with six stolen bases. He has yet to be caught stealing.
- Ethan Hoopingarner has proven to be a reliable arm out of the bullpen for USC as a freshman, making a team-high seven appearances so far and posting a 1.08 ERA. His seven appearances are 17th in the NCAA and third in the Pac-12.
- Isaac Esqueda is seventh in the Pac-12 with just three runs allowed so far this year. He owns a 1.20 ERA, good for 10th in the league.
TEAM NOTES
- USC's 7-4 record is tied for fourth best in the Pac-12.
- The Trojans have taken 2-of-3 games each of the first three weekends to start the year.
- USC is second in the Pac-12 in batting average (.291).
- The Trojans' .982 fielding percentage is 26th in the country and second in the Pac-12.
- USC has seven triples on the year, leading the Pac-12 and sitting fifth in the NCAA.
- Trojan batters have recorded the second fewest strikeouts in the Pac-12 so far, with a total of 72 in 11 games.
- USC is third in the Pac-12 with 15 stolen bases.
- The Trojans' 2.39 team ERA is second in the conference.
- Trojan pitchers have surrendered just 16 extra-base hits this year, second fewest in the Pac-12.
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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