USC Baseball Plays at Penn State, Hosts Hawai'i

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team continues Big Ten conference play on the road at Penn State this weekend, before playing a midweek matchup back home against Hawai'i on Tuesday at LMU. The Trojans have won their last six games and are coming off a weekend series sweep against Ohio State, and a midweek victory against LMU.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC at Penn State (University Park, Penn.), Apr 11, 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Saturday - USC at Penn State (University Park, Penn.), Apr 12, 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Sunday - USC at Penn State (University Park, Penn.), Apr 13, 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Tuesday - USC vs Hawai'i (Los Angeles, Calif.), Apr 8, 6 p.m. PT (B1G+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: LHP Caden Hunter (6-1, 3.65 ERA) vs. PSU: LHP Ryan DeSanto (6-1, 3.62 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (2-2, 5.65 ERA) vs. PSU: RHP Mason Horwat (4-2, 6.06 ERA)
Sunday - USC: TBA vs. PSU: LHP Logan Olson (0-1, 5.87 ERA)

BROADCAST INFO: All games this weekend against the Nittany Lions as well as the midweek matchup against the Rainbow Warriors will 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 PENN STATE: This will be the third ever meeting between the Trojans and Nittany Lions, with USC winning both of the first two meetings in 1994 at a neutral site tournament hosted by Texas A&M in March of that season. The Trojans won game one 5-3 and game two 6-2.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS HAWAI'I: The Rainbow Warriors and Trojans have met 56 times in their histories, with USC owning a 30-26 record against Hawai'i. The first matchup came in 1968, with the Trojans winning at Hawai'i, 16-0. The most recent matchup was a 9-7 Hawai'i victory in 2022 at Dedeaux Field.

SERIES VS OHIO STATE: The Trojans picked up their first Big Ten sweep over the weekend against Ohio State. USC used a five-run first inning to beat the Buckeyes 5-3 in the opener, then rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth to win Saturday's contest, 12-9. The Trojans again rallied on Sunday, scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the series finale, 10-9. Brayden Dowd hit a game-tying solo-home run with two outs, then Dean Carpentier hit the game-winning single with the bases loaded. Andrew Harbour was the hero on the mound for USC as he tossed 2.2 scoreless innings to pick up the win and allow the Trojans to come back.

STANKIEWICZ TO LEAD USA COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM: USC Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz has been named the manager of the 2025 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and will lead Team USA this summer in the 45th edition of the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series. Stankiewicz returns to USA Baseball for his fifth coaching stint after serving as an assistant coach for the Collegiate National Team in 2012 and 2023 and managing the 18U National Team in 2014 and 2017. The Collegiate National Team is set to play the 45th edition of the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series at various venues across Japan from July 8-13.

USC-USA BASEBALL TRADITION CONTINUES: Stankiewicz managing this year's Collegiate National Team continues a long tradition of USC managers coaching with USA Baseball. The USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series was actually founded by legendary Trojan manager Rod Dedeaux in 1972 and he served as Series Chairman from 1972 to 1984 and then was Chairman Emeritus following that. Dedeaux was the head coach of the United States baseball teams at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where baseball was contested both times as a demonstration sport. USC Hall-of-Fame manager Mike Gillespie also served two stints as a coach with USA baseball, first as an assistant coach in 1997 and then as the manager of the Collegiate National Team in 2000.

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 2nd in the Big Ten with a .415 batting average, 51 hits, .805 slugging percentage, and 99 total bases. He is 6th in the conference with 39 RBI, his 11 home runs are the most on the team and also 6th in the league, and his OBP of .523 is 3rd in the league. Hedges is the only USC player who has reached base in every game this year. He is also 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts. Hedges has 8 saves so far this season, a total that is 5th in the NCAA and 1st in the Big Ten. In 10.0 innings pitched, he has only allowed 7 hits while striking out 9 batters and holding opponents to a .194 batting average. Hedges has hit a home run and been credited with a save in the same game 5 times this season. This past weekend against Ohio State, Hedges added 4 hits, including a home run and his 4th triple of the year. Against Indiana, Hedges went 9-13, with 4 home runs, while scoring 5 runs, and posting 9 RBI. Last week, several midseason awards were announced, with Hedges being named a D1Baseball Midseason First-Team All-American and the Perfect Game Midseason 2-Way Player of the Year. Hedges was also named to the NCAA Lineup of the Week for the second time this season after his performance in Bloomington.
Brayden Dowd has begun his sophomore season hitting .331 for the Trojans. The center fielder ranks 1st in the Big Ten in walks (32), while also hitting 8 home runs. His 30 runs scored, 25 RBI, and 40 hits are all second on the team. He also has 3 stolen bases on the year. Dowd has been a tough hitter to strike out, K'ing just 22 times in 121 at bats, while reaching base in 31 of 32 games for the Trojans. Dowd has proven to have the clutch gene time and time again as two weeks ago he cranked a go-ahead home run in the 9th on Saturday against Indiana, and this past weekend he hit a game-tying solo-home run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th on Sunday against Ohio State. Dowd's 11 multiple-hit games are fourth on the team, and his 8 multiple-RBI games are second on the team.
Abbrie Covarrubias is hitting .330, with 35 hits which is fourth on the team, and has five doubles, one triple and three home runs. His most recent home run came on Tuesday against LMU, a game in which he matched his career high with 5 RBI. He also 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 14 of his last 18 games, including 8 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 weekends ago, he had 6 hits against Nebraska, including a home run on Sunday. He tallied another multiple hit game against UC Irvine two weeks ago, with a double and a home run.
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 double that scored two runs.
Caden Hunter, a junior transfer from Sierra College, has been electric on the mound for the Trojans on Friday nights, pitching to a 3.65 ERA (9th in the Big Ten) with a WHIP of 1.33. In 44.1 innings pitched, he has struck out 50 batters (4th most in the Big Ten), with his 10.15 strikeouts per nine innings 8th best in the Big Ten. He tossed a season-high 7.0 innings against Nebraska, and has been credited with the win in all of his last four Friday night starts. His six wins are the most in the conference, and 4th in the country. With Hunter on the mound, USC is 7-1 in series openers.
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. His 9.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 1st in the conference and 5th in the country, with his 1.26 WHIP is 14th in the conference. His 0.84 walks per 9 are 1st in the conference and 5th in the country.
Brodie Purcell has been impressive out of the bullpen for the Trojans, pitching to a 1.14 ERA in 16 appearances. In 23.2 innings he has 29 K's and has given up just 15 hits. He has given up just 1 run in his last 10 appearances, in 18.0 innings. His 16 appearances is 2nd most in the Big Ten.
Andrew Harbour had a breakout relief performance on Sunday against Ohio State, in just his third appearance on the mound this season, Harbour tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out 6 of the 9 batters he faced.
Team Stat Rankings:
9.6 K/9 - 3rd B10, 50th NCAA
3.78 BB/9 - 1st B10, 43rd NCAA
2.53 K/BB ratio - 1st B10, 35th NCAA
1.45 WHIP - 4th B10, 73rd NCAA
5.25 ERA - 6th B10, 93st NCAA
9 triples - 2nd B10, 59th NCAA

USC Baseball Plays at Penn State, Hosts Hawai'i

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Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Dean Carpentier

Abbrie Covarrubias

Brayden Dowd

Andrew Harbour

Ethan Hedges

Caden Hunter

Adrian Lopez

Brodie Purcell

Kevin Takeuchi

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