USC Baseball to Open Series With Friday Doubleheader at Indiana

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team continues Big Ten conference play on the road with a weekend series at Indiana and then hosts San Diego State for a non-conference midweek matchup at Great Park. Due to rainy weather in the forecast in Indiana, the Trojans and Hoosiers will play a doubleheader on Friday and then finish the series on Saturday.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday (DH) - USC at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), Mar 28, 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Friday (DH) - USC at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), Mar 28, 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Saturday - USC at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), Mar 29, 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Tuesday - USC vs San Diego State (Irvine, Calif.), Apr 1, 6 p.m. PT (B1G+)

BROADCAST INFO: All three games in Bloomington will be broadcast on B1G+. The midweek matchup with SDSU will also be broadcast on B1G+. 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.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS INDIANA: This will be the second ever matchup between the Hoosiers and Trojans, with the only ever game coming in 1969 at the mid-season Riverside National Collegiate Baseball Tournament hosted by UC Riverside, where USC shutout IU 7-0.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS SAN DIEGO STATE: This will be the 91st matchup between the Aztecs and the Trojans, with USC having a 61-26-3 record against SDSU. The first matchup between the programs came in 1945, with the Trojans winning 12-4. The most recent matchup came in 2020 at Tony Gwynn Stadium, where the Trojans scored 11 unanswered runs in a midweek game to win 11-5.

SERIES WIN VS NEBRASKA: USC took two-of-three from Nebraska to win its second straight Big Ten series last weekend. On Friday night, the Trojans got 7.0 strong innings from Caden Hunter and used a two-out rally in the third to score three runs. Other than giving up three runs in the fourth, Hunter was dominant, facing the minimum over his last three innings and only giving up one hit outside of the fourth. Kevin Takeuchi drove in two of the five runs for USC, Adrian Lopez had a three-hit day and Augie Lopez hit his first career homer in a pinch hit at bat in the seventh. The Trojans fell on Saturday, after Nebraska came back for two runs in the final inning to beat the USC 6-5. The Trojans took the series on Sunday, taking down Nebraska 7-1 after Grant Govel tossed 5.0 scoreless innings and USC hit three homers (Maximo Martinez, Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, Adrian Lopez) as the Trojans were in control from start to finish in the series finale.

MIDWEEK WIN AT ARIZONA STATE: Three homers and five Trojan arms combined to hold a potent Arizona State offense in check as USC took down the Sun Devils, 6-3, on Tuesday night. Dean Carpentier had a two-run homer and an RBI triple, Ethan Hedges hit a home run and recorded the save on the mound, and Brayden Dowd hit a monster two-run shot to right to make it a 4-2 game in the 5th. Andrew Johnson got the start and held ASU in check through his 4.0 innings of work. After two runners reached to start the fifth, Sax Matson came in and needed just four pitches to get out of the jam, getting a popup and double play. Hedges took over in the ninth, working around a two-out single to record his sixth save of the year.

SERIES AT MICHIGAN: USC took two of three games at Michigan over the weekend, winning the opening two matchups before falling in the finale. The Trojans jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opener and held on despite a late push by the Wolverines for a 7-4 victory. Caden Hunter gave up just one run in 6.2 innings pitched on Friday and Abbrie Covarrubias drove in four runs. On Saturday, Caden Aoki gave up just two runs in 7.0 innings pitched and the Trojans scored four runs in the eighth to win 4-3. USC got run-ruled, 11-0, in seven innings on Sunday.

2025 PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Ethan Hedges has not only been the Trojans' offensive leader this season, but has established himself as one of the nation's top closers as well. Hedges ranks 12th in the Big Ten with a .374 batting average, is 7th in the conference with 34 hits, 15th with 25 RBI, 8th with 63 total bases and his .692 slugging percentage is 11th in the league. He is also the only USC player who has reached base in every game this year, and is currently riding a 9-game hitting streak. Hedges also has 6 saves so far this season, a total that is 5th in the NCAA and 1st in the Big Ten. In 8.0 innings pitched, he has only allowed 5 hits while striking out 8 batters and holding opponents to a .179 batting average. Hedges has hit a home run and been credited with a save in the same game 3 times this season.
Brayden Dowd has begun his sophomore season hitting .303 for the Trojans. The center fielder ranks 4th in the Big Ten in walks (23) and 16th in doubles (7), while also hitting 4 home runs. His 20 runs scored are second on the team, 14 RBI is third, and his 27 hits are second as well. He also has 2 stolen bases on the year. Dowd has been a tough hitter to strike out, K'ing just 17 times in 89 at bats, while reaching base in 23 of 24 games for the Trojans. Playing in his home state of Michigan two weekends ago, Dowd had a hit in all three games against the Wolverines, going 4-for-11 at the plate. Dowd's 7 multiple hit game streak is second on the team, and is currently on a 3-game hitting streak.
Abbrie Covarrubias is hitting .284 with 21 hits, which is 4th most on the team, and has 3 doubles, one triple and one inside the park home run (vs. UConn). He drove in 4 runs against Michigan on Friday to lead the Trojans to a 7-4 victory. After a slow start to the season, he has hits in 7 of his last 10 games, including 3 multi-hit games.
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 of opening weekend. Lopez had 8 homers for the Dirtbags last year. Two weeks ago at Fullerton he had 3 hits, scoring once and driving in a run as well, and on Saturday against Michigan, he had a clutch two-run double to tie the game in the 8th. This past weekend he had 6 hits against Nebraska, including a home run on Sunday. He tallied another multiple hit game against UC Irvine this week, with a 2B and a home run. He has 8 hits in the last 4 games, and has had atleast one hit in 9 of his last 10 games.
Kade Higgins is 4th on the team with 21 hits after posting back-to-back three hit days to open the series at Michigan. The grad transfer from UNLV, is hitting .263, with 4 doubles and 3 homers.
Kevin Takeuchi returned to the lineup after a brief stint on the DL due to a shoulder injury, and had hits in all three games at Michigan, and all three games against Nebraska. He had 4 RBI against the Cornhuskers, including a 2B that scored two runs. The sophomore is fifth on the team with a .281 batting average.
Caden Hunter, a junior transfer from Sierra College, has been electric on the mound for the Trojans on Friday nights, pitching to a 3.00 ERA (9th in the Big Ten) with a WHIP of 1.21. In 33.0 innings pitched, he has struck out 38 batters (5th most in the Big Ten), with his 10.36 strikeouts per nine innings 9th best in the Big Ten. His 7.09 hits allowed per 9 are 11th best in the conference. He most recently tossed a season-high seven innings against Nebraska. Hunter gave up all three of his runs and four of the five hits he allowed in the fourth inning, but faced the minimum the rest of the way to pick up the victory. Two weeks ago he pitched a gem on Friday night at Michigan, giving up just one run in 6.2 innings.
Caden Aoki posted the biggest performance of the year against No. 14 Vanderbilt on March 1st, throwing 7.0 innings, giving up just 4 hits and 1 walk, and not allowing an earned run. His 10 strikeouts were a career high. Aoki was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for his efforts against Vandy. He is the first USC pitcher to earn the award this season. This past weekend, he threw 6.1 innings against Nebraska, allowing 5 hits and 4 runs, while not allowing any walks. Against Michigan, he threw 7.0 innings allowing just 2 runs in the 3rd inning and then only allowing one baserunner the rest of the way as USC came back for a 4-3 victory. His 15.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 1st in the Big Ten and 4th in the country, and his 1.00 WHIP is 6th in the conference. His 0.53 walks per 9 are 1st in the Big Ten and 3rd in the NCAA
Brodie Purcell has been impressive out of the bullpen for the Trojans, pitching to a 1.29 ERA in 12 appearances. In 14.0 innings he has 16 K's and given up just 8 hits. He has given up just 2 hits in his last 6 appearances, throwing 9.1 scoreless innings.
Team Stat Rankings:
9.5 K/9 - 3rd B10, 67th NCAA
3.52 BB/9 - 2nd B10, 27th NCAA
2.69 K/BB ratio - 1st B10, 36th NCAA
1.33 WHIP - 3rd B10, 37th NCAA
4.63 ERA - 6th B10, 65th NCAA
7 triples - 2nd B10, 62nd NCAA

USC Baseball to Open Series With Friday Doubleheader at Indiana

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Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Dean Carpentier

Abbrie Covarrubias

Brayden Dowd

Grant Govel

Ethan Hedges

Kade Higgins

Caden Hunter

Andrew Johnson

Adrian Lopez

Augie Lopez

Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek

Maximo Martinez

Sax Matson

Brodie Purcell

Kevin Takeuchi

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