USC Baseball Plays Final Regular Season Series at Washington

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team plays its final regular season conference series of the year, as they travel to Seattle to face Washington. The Trojans will then fly to Omaha, Neb. for the Big Ten Tournament.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Thursday - USC at Washington (Seattle, Wash.), May 15, 7 p.m. PT (B1GN)
Friday - USC at Washington (Seattle, Wash.), May 16, 6 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Saturday - USC at Washington (Seattle, Wash.), May 17, 1 p.m. PT (B1G+)

BROADCAST INFO: Thursday night's series opener against Washington will be broadcast on Big Ten Network, with the following two games 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.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS WASHINGTON: USC is 46-47 all-time against the Huskies. The most recent matchup between USC and UW resulted in a Trojan sweep in 2024. Last season Ethan Hedges had 5 hits in the three-game sweep. This will be the first meeting for the programs in the Big 10.

B1G TOURNAMENT: The Big Ten Tournament will be played in Omaha, Neb. at Charles Schwab Field, May 20-25. Depending on results this week, USC can reach as high as the No. 2 seed or as low as the No. 6 seed.

LAST WEEK: The Trojans lost their first series in more than two months last weekend, dropping 2-of-3 games to Michigan State at home. The series loss was USC's first since being swept by No. 5 Oregon (March 7-9), and was just the second series loss of the season for the Trojans, who have won 10-of-12 three-game series so far this year. USC dropped the opening two games and then won the finale, 10-3.

STANKIEWICZ NEARING 100 WINS AT USC: USC Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz is two wins away from 100 career wins at USC (98-69-1). Hall-of-Famer Mike Gillespie is the only other USC manager to reach the 100-win mark in his first three seasons at the helm for the Trojans. In his three years at USC, Stankiewicz has already led the program to its first run of three straight 30-win seasons since 2000-02, and the first back-to-back Top 4 finishes in the conference standings since 2014-15. USC is one of just 13 power four schools with 50+ conference wins over the last three seasons (51). For his career as a head coach, Stankiewicz owns a career record of 439-308-3 over 14 seasons.

TOP 25 SERIES WIN VS UCLA: The Trojans took two-of-three from No. 14 UCLA over the weekend, winning the second two games after dropping the opener. Caden Aoki threw 7.0 scoreless innings on Saturday to lead USC to victory and Augie Lopez led the way with two RBI. Andrew Johnson threw 6.1 scoreless relief innings on Sunday and USC erased an early 3-0 deficit, getting four RBI from Augie Lopez and three from Andrew Lamb.

30 WINS AGAIN: USC's win against CSUN on Tuesday gave the program a third straight 30-win season for the first time since 2002. The Trojans have won at least 30 games in each of Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz's three seasons at the helm, a feat that had happened just once in the prior 17 years before Stankiewicz took over in 2023. USC's streak of seven straight series victories is also the first such streak for a Trojan team since 2001.

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 9th in the Big Ten with 68 hits and his .351 batting average is also 9th. His 122 total bases are 8th, a .629 slugging percentage is 12th, and his 39 walks are 7th in the conference. He is 17th in the conference with 51 RBI, his 12 home runs are the most on the team and also 19th in the league, and his OBP of .469 is 11th in the league. Hedges has reached base safely in 47-of-51 games so far this year. He is also 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts. Hedges has 9 saves so far this season, a total that is 18th in the NCAA and 2nd in the Big Ten. In 13.0 innings pitched, he has only allowed 9 hits while striking out 11 batters and holding opponents to a .191 batting average. Hedges has hit a home run and been credited with a save in the same game 5 times this season. 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. In late April Hedges was placed on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List among the top closers in the nation.
Brayden Dowd in his sophomore season is hitting .320 for the Trojans. The center fielder ranks 6th in the Big Ten in walks (41), while also hitting 9 home runs (2nd most on the team). His 48 runs scored and 65 hits are 2nd on the team, and his 33 RBI are 4th. He also has 3 stolen bases on the year, has reached base in 50-of-51 games for the Trojans, and is currently on a 30-game on base streak. Against Michigan State, Dowd had three hits on Saturday and six over the whole weekend, including his 9th homerun he hit on Sunday. 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 18 multiple-hit games are 2nd on the team, and his 10 multiple-RBI games are tied for 3rd on the team.
Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek returned this season after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 20th round. BMG has been the Trojans' shortstop all season, and is hitting .304 with 62 hits, which is 3rd on the team. His 8 homers are 3rd on the team, and his 40 runs scored are 3rd most on the team. Martin-Grudzielanek leads the team with 19 multiple hit games, and is tied for 3rd with 10 multiple RBI games. Sunday against Michigan State, BMG had 3 hits including his 7th double of the year, and scored a run.
Andrew Lamb has gotten hot for the Trojans after beginning the year on the injured list and making his season debut on March 16 at Michigan. The sophomore has spent time catching for the Trojans, as well as at both corner outfield positions. He is 2nd on the team with a .345 batting average, and has 29 hits in 84 at bats. He has scored 26 runs and tallied 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 home runs. He also leads the team in slugging (.667). In just 26 games played, he has 9 multiple hit games, and has been on base in all but 8 of them. Against UCLA and CSUN, Lamb led the Trojans with 8 hits (8-for-18) on the week. At CSUN, Lamb was a single short of the cycle, with 3 hits and a walk, scoring three times and driving in 3 more. For his performance against UCLA and CSUN, Lamb was named the Big Ten Player of the Week.
Richard Tejeda had a coming out party on Friday night at Minnesota, going 4-for-5 with 5 RBI and 2 runs scored. He also hit his first home run as a Trojan on Friday in Minneapolis. He followed up that performance with two more hits and a run scored on Saturday and one hit on Sunday.
Abbrie Covarrubias is hitting .307, with 54 hits which is 5th on the team, and has 10 doubles, 2 triples and 3 home runs. On Sunday against Michigan State, Covarrubias had 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. He leads the team with 11 stolen bases. Against UCLA he tallied 3 hits on Saturday, scoring a run as well as driving in another. In 4 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 2 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run and this performance led him to be named the Big Ten Player of the Week. He was also named to the NCAA Lineup of the Week after his performance. He has hits in 25 of his last 34 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. On Sunday against Michigan State, Lopez had three hits and two RBI, and also scored a run. On Friday night against Minnesota, he had 3 hits and 5 RBI, and also scored once in the game. Against UCLA he had three hits and two doubles on Friday, drove in two runs, and scored once. He is slashing .320/.401/.541.
Caden Aoki had back-to-back stellar outings against UCLA and Minnesota, posting a 0.56 ERA in 16.0 IP. In the two starts, he gave up just 6 hits and 1 run, striking out 15. In his start against rival UCLA, Aoki was electric, going 7.0 innings, giving up just 4 hits and not allowing a single run. He struck out 6 and only walked one. He threw an absolute gem against Minnesota the week prior, throwing a complete game for the Trojans. Aoki worked a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and finished giving up just 2 hits in his 9.0 innings of work. He struck out 9 and was the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. He also posted one of the biggest performances 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. His 7.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 1st in the conference and 6th in the country, with his 1.14 WHIP good for 9th in the conference. His 1.08 walks per 9 are 1st in the conference and 4th in the country.
Brodie Purcell has been outstanding out of the bullpen for the USC, pitching to a 2.08 ERA in 23 appearances. In 34.2 innings he has 44 K's and has given up just 18 hits. His 23 appearances are 5th most in the Big Ten, and he has not given up an earned run in 19 of his outings.
Andrew Johnson has been stellar for the Trojan bullpen. When the freshman comes out of the pen, he has pitched to a 3.51 ERA, and has been credited with a win in three of his last five appearances. His season ERA is 4.47 and he has 48 strikeouts in his 58.1 innings pitched, with just 11 walks. In the Sunday rubber match against rival UCLA, Johnson came into relief in the first inning, and was stellar into the seventh. He went 6.1 IP, gave up just 4 hits, struck out 5, and did not allow a single earned run. Johnson was recognized for his performance against the Bruin making the NCAA Lineup of the Week. Against Minnesota, Johnson came into the game in the third inning on Friday night. He threw 6.1 scoreless innings for the Trojans giving up just two hits all night and struck out four without surrendering a walk. For his outstanding relief appearance, Johnson was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Team Stat Rankings:
- 9.2 K/9 - 2nd B10, 61st NCAA
- 3.86 BB/9 - 1st B10, 54th NCAA
- 2.37 K/BB ratio - 2nd B10, 43rd NCAA
- 1.37 WHIP - 3rd B10, 40th NCAA
- 4.66 ERA - 4th B10, 47th NCAA
- 0.292 AVG - 3rd B10, 78th NCAA
- 103 doubles - 3rd B10, 57th NCAA
- 14 triples - 1st B10, 47th NCAA
- 520 hits - 2nd B10, 40th NCAA
- Have had double digit hits in 30 games, including 20 of the last 29 games
- 8 series win in a row were the most since 1978
- Have won 10-of-12 three-game series on the season
- No. 43 - RPI

USC Baseball Plays Final Regular Season Series at Washington

Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Abbrie Covarrubias

Brayden Dowd

Ethan Hedges

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Lamb

Adrian Lopez

Augie Lopez

Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek

Brodie Purcell

Richard Tejeda

Trojans footer

University Southern California Trojans