USC Baseball Hosts Gonzaga, Heads to Long Beach State

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team hosts Gonzaga for a nonconference series starting on Thursday night at Great Park and then travels to Long Beach State for a midweek matchup with the Dirtbags on Tuesday. The Trojans have won eight of their last ten games, won five series in a row, and are coming off a weekend series win at Penn State.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Thursday - USC vs Gonzaga (Irvine, Calif.), Apr 17, 6:30 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Friday - USC vs Gonzaga (Irvine, Calif.), Apr 18, 6:30 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Saturday - USC vs Gonzaga (Irvine, Calif.), Apr 19, 1 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Tuesday - USC at Long Beach State (Long Beach, Calif.), Apr 22, 6 p.m. PT (ESPN+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Thursday - USC: LHP Caden Hunter (6-1, 3.33 ERA) vs. GU: RHP Finbar O'Brien (3-0, 3.94 ERA)
Friday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (3-2, 5.22 ERA) vs. GU: LHP Miles Gosztola (4-5, 5.25 ERA)
Saturday - USC: TBA vs. GU: RHP Justin Feld (3-4, 6.31 ERA)

BROADCAST INFO: All games this weekend against Gonzaga will be broadcast on B1G+ and Tuesday's game will be 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 GONZAGA: The Trojans have dominated the all-time series against the Zags, with a 10-2 record dating back the first matchup in 1972. Last season, the programs met for the first time since 1989. The Trojans took care of business scoring 15 runs on 17 hits in a 15-3 road victory. Current Trojans Kevin Takeuchi, Ethan Hedges, Dean Carpentier, and Abbrie Covarrubias all had two hits, while Brayden Dowd led the way with three hits. Brodie Purcell and Sax Matson each threw a scoreless inning in relief.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS LONG BEACH STATE: The Trojans own an 86-51 record against the Dirtbags, and took each of the first five matchups between the programs beginning in 1960. Last season the programs split their two matchups, both at Blair Field in Long Beach, with the Trojans taking the first matchup 7-3, and LBSU winning the second, 7-6 in 12 innings. In game one, current Trojans Kevin Takeuchi, Brayden Dowd, and Abbrie Covarrubias all had multiple hits, while Dowd, Covarrubias, and Ethan Hedges all tallied an RBI. Garren Rizzo, Fisher Johnson, Andrew Harbour, and Michael Ebner all appeared in the game, with Harbour throwing two scoreless innings in relief and being credited with the win. In game two, Hedges had a hit and scored twice, while Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek had an RBI double and scored a run.

FIFTH STRAIGHT SERIES WIN VS PENN STATE: The Trojans won their fifth straight Big Ten series this weekend at Penn State. On Friday, the Trojans fell despite Caden Hunter giving up just one run on three hits and 9 strikeouts in 7.0 innings. USC bounced back on Saturday with another impressive pitching performance from Caden Aoki, who didn't allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning and went 7.0 innings, giving up just two runs. USC scored in three of the first five innings, with Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek drving in a run in the third. Abbrie Covarrubias led off the fourth with a double and Augie Lopez and Brayden Dowd added RBI singles to make it a three-run USC lead. Later, Dean Carpentier worked a walk and Kade Higgins hit a sac fly to make it a 5-0. Andrew Johnson picked up the save. On Sunday, the Trojan bats were hot scoring 11 runs on 11 hits, including six doubles. After falling behind early, the Trojans came back with a five-run third inning and a sixth run in the fourth to make it 6-1. Brayden Dowd had RBI doubles in both the third and fourth innings for USC, and Abbrie Covarrubias had a two-run single in the third. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek had a solo shot in the fifth inning. USC would score three runs on five hits in the fifth, also getting an RBI single from Covarrubias and an RBI double from Dean Carpentier. The Trojans tacked on insurance runs in both the seventh and eighth innings. The Trojan bullpen provided 4.0 scoreless innings to close the game and take the series.

SERIES SWEEP 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.

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 4th in the Big Ten with 53 hits and 3rd with 101 total bases, a .398 batting average, and a .805 slugging percentage. He is 8th in the conference with 41 RBI, his 11 home runs are the most on the team and also 7th in the league, and his OBP of .506 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 7th in the NCAA and 1st in the Big Ten. In 11.0 innings pitched, he has only allowed 7 hits while striking out 11 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 5 times this season. Against Ohio State, Hedges added 4 hits, including a home run and his 4th triple of the year. At Indiana, Hedges went 9-13, with 4 home runs, while scoring 5 runs, and posting 9 RBI. Several midseason awards were announced in early April 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 .321 for the Trojans. The center fielder ranks 4th in the Big Ten in walks (34), while also hitting 8 home runs. His 32 runs scored, 28 RBI, and 44 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 25 times in 137 at bats, while reaching base in 35 of 36 games for the Trojans. Dowd has proven to have the clutch gene time and time again as he cranked a go-ahead home run in the 9th on Saturday against Indiana, and the following 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 12 multiple-hit games are fourth on the team, and his 9 multiple-RBI games are second on the team.
Abbrie Covarrubias is hitting .339, with 41 hits which is fourth on the team, and has six doubles, two triples and three home runs. Since the beginning of April, his average is up 44 points. This past week in four starts against LMU and Penn State, the sophomore led the Trojans in hits (8), RBI (8), runs (5), total bases (15), extra-base hits (4) and stolen bases (3). For the week, he batted .500 (8-for-16) with an OPS of 1.494. Covarrubias posted two doubles, one triple and one home run and this performance led him to be named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday. He was also named to the NCAA Lineup of the Week after his performance. Last week against LMU 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 18 of his last 22 games, including 10 multi-hit games, and is riding a team leading 8-game hitting streak. He has 15 hits in those 8 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. Against Penn State he had two hits on Saturday followed by three hits on Sunday, having a double in both games and an RBI in the series finale. Against Nebraska, he had 6 hits in the series including a home run on Sunday. He tallied another multiple hit game against UC Irvine, with a double and a home run. He is slashing .287/.371/.475.
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. He had an RBI double on Sunday at Penn State.
Caden Hunter, a junior transfer from Sierra College, has been electric on the mound for the Trojans on Friday nights, pitching to a 3.33 ERA (9th in the Big Ten) with a WHIP of 1.23. In 51.1 innings pitched, he has struck out 59 batters (3rd most in the Big Ten), with his 10.34 strikeouts per nine innings 6th best in the Big Ten. He matched a season-high 7.0 innings against Penn State, giving up just one run on three hits with a season high 9 strikeouts. Hunter has been credited with the win in four of his last five Friday night starts. His six wins are 3rd most in the conference, and 16th in the country. With Hunter on the mound, USC is 7-2 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. Against Penn State he matched his season high 7.0 innings pitched, giving up two runs on three hits with six strikeouts, getting credited for the win. His 7.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 1st in the conference and 8th in the country, with his 1.18 WHIP is 12th in the conference. His 1.08 walks per 9 are 1st in the conference and 6th in the country.
Brodie Purcell has been impressive out of the bullpen for the Trojans, pitching to a 1.04 ERA in 18 appearances. In 26.0 innings he has 33 K's and has given up just 15 hits. He has given up just 1 earned run in his last 12 appearances, in 20.1 innings. His 18 appearances is 3rd 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 - 2nd B10, 45th NCAA
3.96 BB/9 - 1st B10, 56th NCAA
2.42 K/BB ratio - 2nd B10, 42nd NCAA
1.42 WHIP - 4th B10, 59th NCAA
5.04 ERA - 5th B10, 79th NCAA
11 triples - 1st B10, 38th NCAA
No. 43 - RPI

USC Baseball Hosts Gonzaga, Heads to Long Beach State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Dean Carpentier

Abbrie Covarrubias

Brayden Dowd

Michael Ebner

Andrew Harbour

Ethan Hedges

Kade Higgins

Caden Hunter

Andrew Johnson

Fisher Johnson

Adrian Lopez

Augie Lopez

Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek

Sax Matson

Brodie Purcell

Garren Rizzo

Kevin Takeuchi

Trojans footer

University Southern California Trojans