USC Baseball Opens Big Ten Play Against No. 10 Oregon

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team opens up Big Ten play this weekend, facing former Pac-12 foe No. 10 Oregon at Great Park. The Trojans are coming off a weekend series win in the Southern California College Baseball Classic after beating UConn on Friday night and No. 14 Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC vs Oregon (Irvine, Calif.), Mar 7, 6:30 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Saturday - USC vs Oregon (Irvine, Calif.), Mar 8, 2:00 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Sunday - USC vs Oregon (Irvine, Calif.), Mar 9, 12:00 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Tuesday - USC at Cal State Fullerton (Fullerton, Calif.), Mar 11, 6:00 p.m. PT (ESPN+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: LHP Caden Hunter (2-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Oregon: LHP Grayson Grinsell (1-1, 6.32 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (1-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Oregon: RHP Colin Clarke (1-0, 1.45 ERA)
Sunday - USC: RHP Michael Ebner (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. Oregon: RHP Will Sanford (1-0, 2.19 ERA)

BROADCAST INFO: All three weekend games against the Ducks will be broadcast on B1G+. The midweek matchup with 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.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS OREGON: USC holds the overall lead in the series, 36-28. The first matchup was in 1955, with the Trojans winning both matchups that year, first 7-1 followed by a 10-1 victory. The most recent matchup came last season in the Pac-12 tournament. The Trojans won the Pool Play round against the Ducks, 4-2, with current Trojans Kevin Takeuchi and Ethan Hedges both recording a hit, a run, and an RBI in the game.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS FULLERTON: The Trojans and Titans have a long history on the diamond, with the Titans having a slight advantage in the all-time series (57-51-1). Last season the programs met twice, with USC winning both games and Goodwin field. Earlier this season the Trojans travelled to Fullerton and won 5-3. Ethan Hedges, Kade Higgins, and Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek all had a home run in the game. Garren Rizzo pitched 4.0 scoreless innings to get the win, while Hedges recorded his 3rd save of the year.

SERIES WIN AND TOP 25 VICTORY: USC played in the Southern California College Baseball Classic this past weekend, winning two of the three games. On Friday night, the Trojans came from behind, after UConn scored twice in the top of the second. After the Trojans cut the lead in half in the 3rd with a John Elliott home run, they scored 3 more runs in the 4th thanks to a Jack Basseer solo home run, and an Ethan Hedges two-RBI single. Caden Hunter went 6.0 innings, only giving up one earned run and was credited with the win. The Trojans added some insurance in the 7th after Hedges, Adrian Lopez, and Basseer all had RBI hits. Abbrie Covarrubias hit an inside-the-park home run in the 8th. Grant Govel went 3.0 innings and got the save. On Saturday the Trojans knocked off No. 14 ranked Vanderbilt, 3-1. The Trojans struck early, scoring two runs in the 3rd, thanks to a Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek RBI double, and a Dean Carpentier sacrifice fly. Covarrubias added another in the 6th with a sacrifice fly, scoring Carpentier. Caden Aoki was stellar going 7.0 innings without allowing an earned run, striking out a career high 10. Mason Edwards faced 6 hitters, striking out 3 of them, before handing the ball off to Hedges, who struck out the last hitter in the game to record his fourth save. On Sunday, the Trojans travelled to Westwood to play UCLA. The Trojans had 10 hits, 3 more than the Bruins, but timely defense from UCLA limited the Trojans on offense as USC fell, 5-1.

FULERTON WIN: The Trojans travelled to Fullerton to play Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday and won 5-3. Michael Ebner made his first start of the year, throwing 1.0 inning, giving up one run with three K's. Ethan Hedges hit his fourth home run of the year in the first inning, with Kade Higgins hitting his third home run of the season right after Hedges. Garren Rizzo came into the game after Ebner and shut down the Titans, throwing 4.0 innings of one-hit baseball, striking out a career high 9. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek hit his first home run in the fifth to give the Trojans an insurance run, and later in the eighth drove in another run with a RBI single. Ethan Hedges shut the door in the 9th to record his 3rd save on the year.

2025 PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Ethan Hedges has started the year off hot for the Trojans in the box, field, basepath, and on the mound. The Junior is hitting .391, scoring 12 runs with 16 RBI. He has 4 HR, good for 12th in the Big Ten. He also has 2 triples, 2nd most in the Big Ten, and 2 doubles, along with 6 walks and 2 HBP. His 36 total bases are 6th in the Big Ten. He has also stolen 4 bases. He began the year on an 11 game htting streak, and has reached base in every game so far for USC. On the mound as the Trojans' closer, he has converted 4 of his 5 save opportunities, and his 4 saves are 2nd most in the country. He has thrown 5.0 innings, striking out 5 and allowing just 2 hits.
Brayden Dowd has begun his sophmore season hitting .311 for the Trojans. The center fielder ranks top 10 in the Big Ten in walks (13) and doubles (5), while also hitting 2 home runs. His 9 runs scored and 8 RBI are third on the team, while his 14 hits ties him for second on the team. He also has 2 stolen bases on the year. In the leadoff spot he has been a tough hitter to strikeout, K'ing just 7 times in 45 at bats, while reaching base in all 12 games for the Trojans.
Kade Higgins, a grad transfer from UNLV, has had a power surge to start the year. He had a 4-for-4 game with 2 homers on Saturday of opening weekend, and now has 13 total hits, good for third most on the team. He has launched 3 home runs, with his most recent coming two weeks ago against Fullerton, hitting one off the light post in RF. Along with his .295 AVG., Higgins' OPS for the season is .883.
Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek has started the year batting .286 with 6 walks and a HBP. He hit his first home run of the year at Fullerton, smoking a first pitch fastball over the right field fence. His 11 runs scored are 2nd on the team, and he has had 5 multiple hit games, which leads the team.
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. He went 2-4 last week against UConn, with 2 doubles, one of which scored a run.
Caden Hunter, a junior transfer from Sierra College, has been electric on the mound for the Trojans on Friday nights, pitching to a 1.80 ERA with a WHIP of 1.20. In 15 innings pitched, he has struck out 20, giving up just 10 hits and 3 earned runs. Hitters are batting .192 against him, with lefty hitters batting just .043 against him. The lefty struck out the first 3 batters he faced in his Trojan debut.
Caden Aoki posted the biggest performance of the year against No. 14 Vanderbilt last week, 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. In the 5th inning, the Commodores loaded the bases, but Aoki got out of it by getting the next two hitters to strike out, both whiffing at off speed pitches. 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.
In his 2nd collegiate appearance, Grant Govel tossed 5.0 scoreless relief innings to pick up the win against UC Irvine. Govel did not allow a hit, walking 1 batter and striking out 6. He followed up that performace with 2.0 scoreless innings against Rice. His 7.0 scoreless innings and 8 strikeouts against UC Irvine and Rice led to him being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Feb. 24.
Garren Rizzo has been clutch to start the season for the USC bullpen. Against Cal State Fullerton he threw 4.0 scoreless innings, giving up just 1 hit and striking out a career high 9. Against CSU Bakersfield, he came into the game with 1 out and the bases loaded and got the next two hitters to pop up and then strikeout to leave the bases loaded. He has thrown a total of 9.2 innings, with 13 strike outs, 3 hits, and hasn't given up a run. He leads the NCAA with 4 wins to his record, getting credited with a win in all 4 of his appearances.
USC's 4 homers on Saturday of opening weekend were more than any game last season.
The Trojan bullpen has pitched to a 3.43 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 .282/.383/.450 through 12 games.
USC's 9-3 start is the best for a Trojan team since 2022, where they began the season 10-2.
Stat rankings - 3.17 ERA: 24th NCAA | 1.18 WHIP: 26th NCAA | 11.8 K's/9: 14th NCAA | 4 triples: 2nd B1G | 14 HR: 9th B1G

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Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Jack Basseer

Dean Carpentier

Abbrie Covarrubias

Brayden Dowd

Michael Ebner

Mason Edwards

John Elliott

Grant Govel

Ethan Hedges

Kade Higgins

Caden Hunter

Adrian Lopez

Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek

Garren Rizzo

Kevin Takeuchi