USC
8-1
UConn
1-6
USC Baseball Opens Weekend With 8-5 Win Over UConn
February 28, 2025 | Baseball
USC moves to 8-1 on the season with the victory, while the Huskies fall to 1-6.
After falling behind 2-0 in the second inning, USC got solo-homers from John Elliott and Jack Basseer to even things up. Elliott hit his first collegiate homer in the third inning and Basseer's first home run as a Trojan came in the fourth. Basseer's shot to left was part of a three-run inning for USC, with Ethan Hedges giving USC the lead with a two-run single.
Hunter got the start and threw 6.0 strong innings, with just one of the three runs scored against him being earned. After giving up the two early runs in the second, Hunter stranded a pair in the third and retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced.
The Trojans posted another three-run inning in the seventh to extend their lead, with Hedges, Basseer and Adrian Lopez driving in runs. Abbrie Covarrubias added an inside the park home run in the eighth to cap the scoring for USC.
UConn scored two runs in the ninth, but it was too little too late as Grant Govel closed it out and picked up his first save of the year after tossing the final 3.0 innings.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Caden Hunter: 6.0 IP, 5H, ER, 3BB, 6K
- Ethan Hedges: 3-for-4, 3 RBI, R, 3 SB
- Jack Basseer: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, R, HR
- Abbrie Covarrubias: 2-for-4, RBI, 2R, HR
COMING UP
The Trojans face No. 14 Vanderbilt at Great Park on Saturday at 2 p.m. and then head to UCLA on Sunday for a 2 p.m. weekend finale. Both games will be broadcast on B1G+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hunter, Caden (2-0)
L: Suchy, Cayden (0-3)
S: Govel, Grant (1)
Batting:
2B: Lane, Connor 1
RBI: Shpur, Caleb 1 ; Minick, Tyler 1 ; Lane, Connor 1 ; Rispoli, Rob 1
SF: Minick, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shpur, Caleb 1 ; MacArthur, Grant 1 ; Dalena, Maddix 1 ; Lane, Connor 1 ; Rispoli, Rob 1
Batting:
2B: Lopez, Adrian 2
HR: Basseer, Jack 1 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 1 ; Elliott, John 1
RBI: Hedges, Ethan 3 ; Lopez, Adrian 1 ; Basseer, Jack 2 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 1 ; Elliott, John 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dowd, Brayden 1 ; Martin-Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 1 ; Basseer, Jack 1 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 2 ; Elliott, John 1
SB: Martin-Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Hedges, Ethan 3
CS: Dowd, Brayden 1 ; Basseer, Jack 1
PO: Dowd, Brayden 1
