USC Baseball Opens Crosstown Showdown at UCLA on Friday

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball travels across town this weekend for a three-game series with UCLA, closing out a seven-game road swing before welcoming in Fresno State at OC Great Park on Tuesday. The Trojans come in having won four of their last six contests.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC at UCLA (Los Angeles, Calif.), Mar. 22, 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Saturday - USC at UCLA (Los Angeles, Calif.), Mar. 23, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Los Angeles)
Sunday - USC at UCLA (Los Angeles, Calif.), Mar. 24, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Tuesday - USC vs. Fresno State (Irvine, Calif.), Mar. 26, 6:30 p.m. (USC Live Stream)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (1-3, 6.20 ERA) vs. UCLA: RHP Luke Jewett (1-1, 5.46 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Tyler Stromsborg (0-4, 6.26 ERA) vs. UCLA: RHP Michael Barnett (1-1, 5.48 ERA)
Sunday - USC: RHP Jared Feikes (1-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. UCLA: RHP Landon Stump (0-1, 4.64 ERA)
Tuesday - USC: TBD vs. FSU: TBD

BROADCAST INFO: All three of this weekend's contests at UCLA will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. Tuesday's game against Fresno State can be found on the USC Live Stream. Links to 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 for all games from @USC_Baseball on X 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 X, @sctrojans_baseball on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.

SERIES VS UCLA: USC and UCLA have been playing since 1928, with the Trojans holding a 268-151 lead in the all-time series. USC has taken two-of-three in the season series each of the last two years, winning at home last season and in Westwood in 2022. USC took the finale in dramatic fashion last year, getting a walk-off single from Cole Gabrielson in the bottom of the ninth.

STANFORD SERIES WIN: USC took two-of-three at Stanford over the weekend, winning the opener and the finale. The Trojans erased two deficits in the finale and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth. It was USC's first series win at Stanford since 2014.

TUESDAY VS LBSU: The Trojans picked up a midweek road win at Long Beach on Tuesday, thanks to a 5-run third inning and a combined nine innings of 3-run baseball from five Trojans arms. USC has now won three of its last four road games and imrpoves to 4-2 on the road this season.

HOME-OPENING SERIES WIN: USC picked up its first series win of the season at OC Great Park over the weekend. After dropping the opener on Friday, the Trojans rebounded Saturday with a 6-5 victory thanks to 6 innings of 2-run baseball from Tyler Stromsborg and a walk-off double from Ethan Hedges. Sunday was a resounding victory for USC, topping Portland 10-4 as all nine Trojans in the ordered reached base at least once.

PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Kevin Takeuchi had the first two-homer day of the season for the Trojans, hitting a pair of homers in the Saturday night game against Arizona. They were the first homers of the freshman's career. Takeuchi also has seven doubles on the year, the eighth most in the Pac-12.
Jacob Galloway has been leading the Trojans at the plate all season, hitting a team-high .355 on the year. Galloway also leads the team with 18 RBI and a .446 OBP.
Eric Hammond posted the longest start of his career to lead USC to a much-needed Sunday victory over Arizona, giving up one run on three hits in 6.0 innings pitched. The lone run he allowed was a solo-homer in the first inning.
After a slow start to the year, Austin Overn is heating up. He comes in riding a nine-game hitting streak, going 15-for-37 (.405) over that stretch. He has hit three homers and nothced a pair of triples over that same nine-game run.
Caden Aoki had his best start of the season last time out, tossing 6.0 innings and givning up just one run on four hits against Stanford on Friday night. USC won the game 5-2. After giving up a run in the second inning, Aoki allowed only one runner past first base the rest of his outing.

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Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Jared Feikes

Cole Gabrielson

Jacob Galloway

Eric Hammond

Ethan Hedges

Austin Overn

Tyler Stromsborg

Kevin Takeuchi