University Southern California Trojans
Friday, February 20
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 p.m. PT
USC
5-0
5
vs
0
Rice
3-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Rice
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
USC
0
0
1
1
0
0
3
0
X
5
7
0
Photo by: Bryce Dechert
Trojans Open Series With 5-0 Shutout of Rice
February 20, 2026 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – Mason Edwards tossed six hitless innings and Will Stickney homered in his first collegiate at bat as the USC baseball team took down Rice, 5-0, in the series opener at Dedeaux Field on Friday night.
Stickney's home run broke a scoreless tie in the third inning and Edwards and Gavin Lauridsen combined for the shutout as the Trojans moved to 5-0 on the year with the win. Rice falls to 3-3 with the loss.
For his second consecutive start to begin the season, Edwards kept the opposition off the board, this time striking out a career-high 11 batters in his 6.0 innings of work. After walking the first batter of the game, Edwards retired 17 straight Owls before giving up his second walk in the sixth inning. Neither runner would pass first base.
Lauridsen picked up the save after entering in the seventh with a 2-0 lead and keeping Rice scoreless through 3.0 innings of work. The freshman righty gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but proceeded to get a double play ball to short and a groundout to third to end the inning. Lauridsen struck out three batters and walked none.
Kevin Takeuchi drove in USC's second run of the game with a double in the fourth and then the Trojans finally got some breathing room with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Adrian Lopez hit a bases-loaded single to drive in two and Abbrie Covarrubias scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.
So far to start the season, USC's weekend starters have thrown 22.0 scoreless innings, striking out 35 batters while giving up three hits and five walks.
TOP PERFORMERS
COMING UP
The Trojans continue their series against Rice on Saturday at 6 p.m. and then wrap things up on Sunday at noon at Dedeaux Field. Both games will be broadcast live on B1G+.
Stickney's home run broke a scoreless tie in the third inning and Edwards and Gavin Lauridsen combined for the shutout as the Trojans moved to 5-0 on the year with the win. Rice falls to 3-3 with the loss.
For his second consecutive start to begin the season, Edwards kept the opposition off the board, this time striking out a career-high 11 batters in his 6.0 innings of work. After walking the first batter of the game, Edwards retired 17 straight Owls before giving up his second walk in the sixth inning. Neither runner would pass first base.
Lauridsen picked up the save after entering in the seventh with a 2-0 lead and keeping Rice scoreless through 3.0 innings of work. The freshman righty gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but proceeded to get a double play ball to short and a groundout to third to end the inning. Lauridsen struck out three batters and walked none.
Kevin Takeuchi drove in USC's second run of the game with a double in the fourth and then the Trojans finally got some breathing room with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Adrian Lopez hit a bases-loaded single to drive in two and Abbrie Covarrubias scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.
So far to start the season, USC's weekend starters have thrown 22.0 scoreless innings, striking out 35 batters while giving up three hits and five walks.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Mason Edwards: W, 6.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, 11K
- Gavin Lauridsen: S, 3.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
- Will Stickney: 2-for-3, Solo-HR, 2B, Sac Bu
- Adrian Lopez: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB
COMING UP
The Trojans continue their series against Rice on Saturday at 6 p.m. and then wrap things up on Sunday at noon at Dedeaux Field. Both games will be broadcast live on B1G+.
Hear from @WillStickney12 after his first career homer got the scoring started in a 5-0 shutout of Rice ✌️ pic.twitter.com/FrNlZRh1N9
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) February 21, 2026
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Edwards, Mason (2-0)
L: Sharp, Brayden (1-1)
S: Lauridsen, Gavin (1)
Batting:
2B: Cadena, Isaac 1 ; Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Stickney, Will 1 ; Ibarra, Isaiah 1
HR: Stickney, Will 1
RBI: Lopez, Adrian 2 ; Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Stickney, Will 1
SH: Stickney, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Covarrubias, Abbrie 1 ; Cadena, Isaac 1 ; Carpentier, Dean 1 ; Stickney, Will 1 ; Ibarra, Isaiah 1
CS: Cadena, Isaac 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 1
HBP: Carpentier, Dean 1
PO: Cadena, Isaac 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballUSC Baseball vs LMU Highlights | Trojans win 14-4
Wednesday, February 18
USC Baseball vs Pepperdine Highlights | Trojans win 8-5
Sunday, February 15
Baseball: Postgame Press Conference (USC vs OSU, NCAA Regional Round)
Monday, June 02
Baseball: Postgame Press Conference (USC vs SMC, NCAA Regional Round)
Saturday, May 31
