No. 20 USC Baseball Opens Big Ten Play at Home against Illinois

Friday, March 6

Los Angeles, Calif.

6:00 p.m. PT

USC

Illinois

Team in dugout prior to starting lineups being announced.

Photo by: John McGillen

No. 20 USC Baseball Opens Big Ten Play at Home against Illinois

March 05, 2026 | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)2026 Schedule

THIS WEEK: The No. 20 USC baseball team heads into its Big Ten premiere this weekend, hosting Illinois for a three-game series starting on Friday. The Trojans enter the matchup unbeaten at 12-0, the team's best start since opening the 2015 season 12-0. The 1988 Trojans set the program record for a season-opening win streak with a 15-0 start. Times for this weekend's series were updated to have Saturday's game start at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. Friday is still at 6 p.m.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC vs. Illinois (Dedeaux Field), March 6, 6:00 p.m. (B1G+)
Saturday - USC vs. Illinois (Dedeaux Field), March 7, 1:00 p.m. (B1G+)
Sunday - USC vs. Illinois (Dedeaux Field), March 8, 11:00 a.m. (B1G+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: LHP Mason Edwards (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. ILL: RHP Ben Plumley (1-1, 5.87 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Grant Govel (3-0, 0.47 ERA) vs. ILL: RHP Regan Hall (2-0, 2.55 ERA)
Sunday - USC: RHP Andrew Johnson (2-0, 1.08 ERA) vs. ILL: TBD

BROADCAST INFO: All three games against the Fighting Illini will be broadcast on B1G+. A link to the broadcast is 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.

PROMOTIONS: The first 500 fans at Friday night's Big Ten Premiere will receive a free USC Baseball Foam Mitt.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS ILLINOIS: USC holds a 2-0 all-time record against the Fighting Illini, with the two programs having met just twice in 1968 and 1969. The Trojans earned a 17-12 win in the last matchup in 1969. Both contests were regular season matchups.

MIDWEEK COMEBACK: The Trojans earned a win at home over the UC Irvine Anteaters after trailing by three early. USC got on the board with a solo shots from Abbrie Covarrubias in the first and Augie Lopez in the second to cut it to 3-2. Kevin Takeuchi tied the game with an RBI single in the third, and Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Trojans the lead. After UC Irvine evened it in the sixth, the Trojans put up two runs in the eighth to secure the 6-4 victory. Sax Matson tossed a scoreless ninth to secure the save.

IN THE RANKINGS: After breaking into the rankings last week at No. 25, the Trojans moved up to No. 20 in the latest Perfect Game poll, No. 22 in Baseball America's rankings and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. USC is off to a 12-0 start, the program's best since 2015, when the Trojans opened the year 12-0. USC is outscoring opponents 83-21 through the first three weeks of the season. The best start in program history came in 1988 (15-0).

FOUR-GAME SWEEP IN SLO: USC picked up a four-game sweep at Cal Poly this past week, shutting the Mustangs out in the opening two games, then blasting the home team 16-2 on Saturday and finishing it with an 8-6 win in 11 innings on Sunday. USC took a no-hitter into the 11th inning on Friday night, scoring six runs in the top of the 11th to break a scoreless tie. Cal Poly got its lone hit of the game with one out in the 11th, but never pushed across a run. USC cruised to a 4-0 win in the opener on Thursday night.

PITCHING DOMINANCE: The Trojan pitching staff has been dominant through three weeks of play, posting the No. 1 ERA (1.67) in the country, No. 2 WHIP (0.94), No. 3 Hits/9 (5.17) and No. 13 strikeout-walk ratio (3.64).

2026 HOME GAMES: After two seasons playing the majority of its home games at Great Park in Irvine, USC returns home to the new Dedeaux Field. The project, which features a brand-new stadium, clubhouse, training facility and offices for the program, is still ongoing and will be completed after the conclusion of the 2026 season. Despite certain elements of the stadium still being under construction, USC will welcome fans into Dedeaux Field this season, with all home games being free and open to the public. Temporary concessions and restrooms will be available all season long. Seating will be first come first serve. For more information visit USCTrojans.com/baseballgameday.

2026 PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Augie Lopez has been a consistent run producer for the Trojans this season. The sophomore currently ranks second on the team with 11 RBIs, trailing only Kevin Takeuchi. During the Rice series, Lopez drove in three of USC's four runs in one of the wins, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a two-run homer. In Tuesday's game against UC Irvine Anteaters, he went 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a home run.
Abbrie Covarrubias has gotten off to a strong start this season, currently batting .348. In the 4-0 win over Cal Poly, the junior went 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and two stolen bases. He leads the team with nine stolen bases so far, after leading last year with 15. In Tuesday's game against UC Irvine, Covarrubias scored two runs and hit his first home run of the season.
Andrew Johnson has emerged as one of the key pitchers in USC's early-season rotation. This past Sunday, Andrew Johnson took the mound against Cal Poly Mustangs, pitching 6.2 innings and retiring the first 14 batters he faced before allowing a pair of hits in the fifth. Johnson finished the game with a career-best seven strikeouts and just one walk.
Grant Govel earned both National and Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after leading USC to a 7-inning no-hitter against Pepperdine. Over 6.0 hitless innings, Govel retired 11 straight batters at one point and struck out five consecutive hitters, allowing just two baserunners (a walk and hit-by-pitch) in the Trojans' 11-0 run-rule victory. It marked Govel's first Pitcher of the Week honor, adding to last season's Big Ten Freshman of the Week recognition. The sophomore delivered another strong outing Saturday against Cal Poly, pitching 7.0 innings and allowing just one earned run on four hits in the Trojans' 16-2 victory.
Kevin Takeuchi has gotten off to a hot start, batting .364 through 12 games and currently leading the team with 16 hits (tied with Abbrie Covarrubias), two triples, and 12 RBIs. In last week's 4-0 win over Cal Poly, Takeuchi had an RBI when he tripled in Isaac Cadena in the seventh inning to extend the Trojans' lead to 4-0.
Mason Edwards was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and Baseball America's National Team of the Week after tossing 7.0 hitless and scoreless innings last Friday against Cal Poly. The junior lefty matched his career high with 11 strikeouts for the second week in a row. So far this season, Edwards has allowed just one hit and no runs in three starts, tossing 18.0 innings.
Maximo Martinez is batting .316 in just six game appearances, including four starts. He made a huge impact in last week's Saturday game against Cal Poly, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs, three runs, three doubles, and a grand slam.
Maddox Riske had himself a day in the third game of last week's Cal Poly series. He went 5-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs, becoming the first Trojan to record five hits in a game since 2022.
Combined Starting Pitcher Stats: Through the first three weekends of the season, the starting rotation has combined for 53.2 innings pitched and 76 strikeouts. Mason Edwards (18.0 IP, 31 K), Grant Govel (19.0 IP, 27 K), and Andrew Johnson (16.2 IP, 18 K) have continued to anchor the staff, delivering consistent performances each weekend on the mound.

Team Stat Rankings:
       - 1.67 ERA - 1st B10, 1st NCAA
        - 0.94 WHIP - 1st B10, 2nd NCAA
        - 11.8 K/9 - 1st B10, 15th NCAA
        - 3.3 BB/9 - 2nd B10, 32nd NCAA
        - 5.17 Hits/9 - 3rd NCAA
        - 3.75 K/BB ratio - 14th NCAA