USC Baseball Hits the Road Against Rice, Cal State Fullerton

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team plays its first road series of the year this week, traveling to face the Rice Owls in Houston, before coming home to play a midweek game at Cal State Fullerton. The Trojans are coming off of an opening weekend sweep over George Washington, and a midweek sweep against UC Irvine and CSU Bakersfield.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC at Rice (Houston, Texas), Feb 21, 4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Saturday - USC at Rice (Houston, Texas), Feb 22, 12 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Sunday - USC at Rice (Houston, Texas), Feb 23, 11 a.m. PT (ESPN+)
Tuesday - USC at Cal State Fullerton (Fullerton, Calif.), Feb 25, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: LHP Caden Hunter (1-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. Rice: RHP Davion Hickson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. Rice: RHP Robert Fernandez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday - USC: TBA vs. Rice: LHP Blaine Brown (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Tuesday – USC: TBA vs. CSUF: TBA

BROADCAST INFO: All three games of the series against Rice, as well as Tuesday against Cal State Fullerton, will be broadcast on ESPN+. 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 followed at @USC_Baseball on X, at @sctrojans_baseball on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.

2025 HOME GAMES: For the second season in a row, USC will play the majority of its home games at Great Park in Irvine due to construction on the new Dedeaux Field, which is scheduled to be completed prior to the 2026 season. Most midweek games will be held at LMU. All USC home games this season will be free and open to the public. For more information visit USCTrojans.com/baseballgameday.

OPENING WEEKEND SWEEP: The Trojans picked up an opening weekend sweep of George Washington to start the 2025 campaign this past week. USC scored 10 runs in the first inning to take Friday's contest 15-2, then hit four homers on Saturday en route to a 9-8 victory. Brayden Dowd hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning of the finale to secure a 7-5 win for the Trojans.

MIDWEEK VICTORIES: On Tuesday at UC Irvine the Trojans picked up their fourth win in a row to start the season, taking down the Anteaters 5-2. Ethan Hedges erased a 2-1 deficit with a grand slam in the sixth inning and Grant Govel picked up the win by tossing 5.0 scoreless and hitless innings to end the game. The Trojans added another game to the win coloumn on Wednesday, taking down CSU Bakersfield 7-0 at LMU. Hedges hit his 3rd home run of the year, while Brayden Dowd hit his 2nd. The bullpen pitched a 2-hit shutout with 6 of the 7 pitchers used recording at least one strikeout. The 7 USC pitchers struck out 12 batters and walked just two.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS RICE: USC is 0-4 all-time against the Owls. The Owls took the first matchup in 2005 and then swept the Trojans in a three-game series in 2011.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS CSU FULLERTON: The Trojans and Titans have a long history on the diamond, with the Titans having a slight advantage in the all-time series (50-57-1). The first meeting took place in 1969 where the Trojans walked off the Titans in the 10th inning. Last season the programs met twice, both at Goodwin Field in Fullerton and both resulted in Trojan wins, first a 6-5 victory in March followed by a 6-4 win in April.

2025 PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Ethan Hedges has started four games at third base and once as the DH in the Trojans 5 games so far, while also recording 2 saves during the weekend series. At the plate, he is 10-for-21 (.476) with a double, triple and 3 homers. He also has scored 8 runs and driven in 12. Hedges hit a go-ahead grand slam on Tuesday against UC Irvine in the 6th inning. Wednesday, he hit a 2-run bomb to straight away CF. On the mound, he retired all six batters he faced over the weekend, striking out three. The two relief appearances were the first of the junior's career. His 10 hits are 5th in the nation, 12 RBI are 3rd, 22 total bases are 3rd, 3 HR are 3rd and 2 saves are 2nd. Hedges also owns a 1.548 OPS to go along with his 0.00 ERA and WHIP.
Kevin Takeuchi recorded multiple hits in all 3 games over the weekend and is second on the team with 8 total knocks (8-for-21, .381). He had 3 hits apiece on Friday and Saturday, and 2 on Sunday. He has driven in 4 runs and scored 6. Takeuchi has a double, a triple, two walks and two HBP's as well.
Kade Higgins, a grad transfer from UNLV, had a 4-for-4 game with 2 homers on Saturday and now has 8 total hits, after a 2-hit game Wednesday night. His 8 hits are good for second on the team, along with his .421 AVG. Higgins' OPS for the weekend was 1.583.
Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek has started the year batting .375 (6-for-16) with a team-high 5 walks. His .522 OBP leads the squad, and his 7 runs scored are tied for 2nd.
Adrian Lopez, a sophomore transfer from LBSU, hit the first home run of the season for USC, with a grand slam in the first inning on Saturday. Lopez had 8 homers for the Dirtbags last year.
Caden Hunter, a junior transfer from Sierra College, got the opening day start on the mound for USC, giving up one run in 4.1 innings of work. The lefty struck out the first 3 batters he faced and finished with 6 total strikeouts.
In his 2nd collegiate appearance, Grant Govel tossed 5.0 scoreless relief innings to pick up the win against UC Irvine on Tuesday. Govel did not allow a hit, walking 1 batter and striking out 6.
Garren Rizzo came into the game Wednesday with 1 out and the bases loaded and got the next two hitters to pop up and then strikeout to leave the bases loaded.
USC's 4 homers on Saturday were more than any game last season.
The Trojan bullpen has been electric to start the season, with a 2.24 ERA for relievers.
The Trojans' opening weekend sweep was the second in three years under Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz.
As a team, USC is slashing .304/.407/.515 through 5 games.
USC's 5-0 start is the best for a Trojan team since 2015.
Stat rankings - 3 triples: 5th NCAA, 52 hits: 16th NCAA, 8 HR: 17th NCAA

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Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Brayden Dowd

Grant Govel

Ethan Hedges

Kade Higgins

Caden Hunter

Adrian Lopez

Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek

Garren Rizzo

Kevin Takeuchi