Friday, May 30
Corvallis, Oregon
12:00 PM
USC
36-21
13
vs
1
TCU
39-19
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5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
USC
0
1
0
2
0
3
3
0
4
13
14
0
TCU
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
2
Photo by: Chris Mora
USC Baseball Dominates No. 22 TCU, 13-1, in NCAA Opener
May 30, 2025 | Baseball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Playing in its first postseason game in a decade, the USC baseball team made a statement, taking down No. 22 TCU, 13-1, in the Corvallis Regional opener.
Caden Aoki was brilliant on the mound and the USC bats were relentless as the Trojans controlled the game from start to finish. The win moves USC to 36-21 on the year, while TCU falls to 39-19. USC stays in the winner's bracket with the victory and will face Saint Mary's on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Aoki's masterclass saw the righty toss 8.0 stellar innings, giving up one run on four hits, while walking none and striking out six batters. The senior righty faced just two batters over the minimum and allowed just one batter past second base as he efficiently carved through the Horned Frogs' lineup.
The USC bats were equally as efficient, scoring 11 runs on 14 hits on the afternoon. The Trojans jumped in front with an RBI single by Richard Tejeda in the second inning and then added two in the fourth thanks to a Jack Basseer single and RBI fielder's choice by Ethan Hedges.
After TCU got on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, USC loaded the bases and scored three in the top of the sixth to make it a 6-1 game. Tejeda led the inning off with a single and Brayden Dowd and Hedges followed with bunt singles to load the bases. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek and Adrian Lopez singled home runs and after a pitching change by TCU, Abbrie Covarrubias hit a sacrifice fly.
USC was far from done, posting another three-run frame in the top of the seventh to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Brayden Dowd got in on the action with an RBI knock and Lopez stayed hot with a two-run single. A four-run ninth inning put the exclamation point on the win, as the Trojans loaded the bases and plated four thanks to four walks, a hit-by-pitch, a passed ball and two groundouts.
Sax Matson tossed a scoreless ninth, striking out two batters and working around a two-out single to finish it.
TOP PERFORMERS
NOTABLE
COMING UP
USC will play on Saturday at 6 p.m. and will face No. 4 seed Saint Mary's after the Gaels beat Regional hosts Oregon State. The winner will advance to the Regional final on Sunday.
Caden Aoki was brilliant on the mound and the USC bats were relentless as the Trojans controlled the game from start to finish. The win moves USC to 36-21 on the year, while TCU falls to 39-19. USC stays in the winner's bracket with the victory and will face Saint Mary's on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Aoki's masterclass saw the righty toss 8.0 stellar innings, giving up one run on four hits, while walking none and striking out six batters. The senior righty faced just two batters over the minimum and allowed just one batter past second base as he efficiently carved through the Horned Frogs' lineup.
The USC bats were equally as efficient, scoring 11 runs on 14 hits on the afternoon. The Trojans jumped in front with an RBI single by Richard Tejeda in the second inning and then added two in the fourth thanks to a Jack Basseer single and RBI fielder's choice by Ethan Hedges.
After TCU got on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, USC loaded the bases and scored three in the top of the sixth to make it a 6-1 game. Tejeda led the inning off with a single and Brayden Dowd and Hedges followed with bunt singles to load the bases. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek and Adrian Lopez singled home runs and after a pitching change by TCU, Abbrie Covarrubias hit a sacrifice fly.
USC was far from done, posting another three-run frame in the top of the seventh to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Brayden Dowd got in on the action with an RBI knock and Lopez stayed hot with a two-run single. A four-run ninth inning put the exclamation point on the win, as the Trojans loaded the bases and plated four thanks to four walks, a hit-by-pitch, a passed ball and two groundouts.
Sax Matson tossed a scoreless ninth, striking out two batters and working around a two-out single to finish it.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Caden Aoki: 8.0 IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 6K
- Adrian Lopez: 3-for-5, 3 RBI, R, BB
- Richard Tejeda: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, 2R, HBP
- Brayden Dowd: 3-for-6, RBI, 2R, BB
NOTABLE
- The 12-run margin of victory marks the largest postseason win for USC since 1994 (25-9 vs. UNC Greensboro).
- Friday's game was the first postseason game for USC since May 31, 2015 (14-10 loss to Virginia in the Regional final).
COMING UP
USC will play on Saturday at 6 p.m. and will face No. 4 seed Saint Mary's after the Gaels beat Regional hosts Oregon State. The winner will advance to the Regional final on Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Aoki, Caden (6-4)
L: LaPour, Tommy (8-3)
Batting:
RBI: Dowd, Brayden 1 ; Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Martin-Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 3 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 2 ; Basseer, Jack 2 ; Tejeda, Richard 2
SH: Hedges, Ethan 1
SF: Covarrubias, Abbrie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dowd, Brayden 2 ; Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Martin-Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 1 ; Lamb, Andrew 1 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 3 ; Lopez, Augie 1 ; Basseer, Jack 1 ; Tejeda, Richard 2
SB: Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 1
HBP: Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 2 ; Tejeda, Richard 1
Batting:
2B: Bell, Jack 1 ; Cramer, Cole 1
HR: Strosnider, Sawyer 1
RBI: Strosnider, Sawyer 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Strosnider, Sawyer 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballC
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