Baseball | March 20, 2019

THIS WEEK: The Trojans once again hit the road for a Pac-12 series, heading to Washington for a three-game set starting on Friday. The Trojans then return to Southern California for a Tuesday matchup at Long Beach State.
 
GAME SCHEDULE:

• Friday (at Washington), March 22, 3 p.m.
• Saturday (at Washington), March 23, 2 p.m.
• Sunday (at Washington), March 24, 1 p.m.
• Tuesday (at Long Beach State), March 19, 6 p.m.

 
BROADCAST INFO: All four road games will have a live audio stream through USCTrojans.com. All three games at Washington will have a live stream via Pac-12+ and the game at Long Beach State will be streamed through BigWest.org. Links to all of 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 from @USC_Baseball on Twitter 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 found at @USC_Baseball on Twitter, @sctrojans on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday at Washington: USC: RHP Connor Lunn (2-0, 2.55 ERA) vs. WASH: RHP David Rhodes (3-1, 2.25 ERA)
Saturday at Washington: USC: LHP Isaac Esqueda (2-0, 1.21 ERA) vs. WASH: RHP Jordan Jones (2-2, 3.13 ERA)
Sunday at Washington: USC: RHP Kyle Hurt (0-2, 7.71 ERA) vs. WASH: RHP Josh Burgmann (3-0, 0.82 ERA)
Tuesday at LBSU: USC: TBA vs. LBSU: TBA
 
PAC-12 OPENER: The Trojans took two of three games to open Pac-12 play at Cal this past weekend, winning the first two before dropping a wild finale. The Trojans took the opener 9-4 behind some clutch homers by CJ Stubbs (game-tying) and Jamal O'Guinn (go-ahead). Isaac Esqueda, Carson Lambert and Chris Clarke combined for a 1-0 shutout on Saturday for USC. The Trojans scored four runs in the ninth, but fell in the finale 9-8.
 
DOWNING THE DIRTBAGS: The Trojans took on Long Beach State this past Tuesday and picked up a 5-2 win. Five Trojan pitchers combined to hold the Dirtbags to just three hits and the USC bats put up five runs on 11 hits.
 
SERIES VS WASHINGTON: USC leads 40-37 (.519) | first meeting: 1959 | last year: Washington took series 2-1.
 
SERIES VS LBSU: USC leads 81-47 (.630) | first meeting: 1960 | last year: split season series 1-1 | this year: USC won 5-2 (3/19)
 
SEASON QUICK HITS:

• The Trojans have two walk-off wins on the season. CJ Stubbs hit a walk-off homer against Arkansas in the 10th inning of the series finale and the Trojans beat Omaha on opening day thanks to a ninth-inning RBI-single from Brandon Perez.
• Chase Bushor has reached base in 18 of 19 games so far this season for the Trojans.
• Blake Sabol hit a home run on the first pitch of the game at Dodger Stadium against UCLA.
• USC is tied with four other teams for second in the Pac-12 at 2-1 after the first weekend of play.
• Ben Ramirez is currently on a seven-game hitting streak and has raised his batting average 250 points to a team high .375 over that stretch. He has seven hits in his last two games.
• Tyler Lozano has five hits and three RBI in his last three games. He's now second on the team with a .370 average.
• Isaac Esqueda has given up just one earned run in three starts this season and has yet to allow more than three hits in an appearance. His 1.21 ERA is seventh in the Pac-12.
• Connor Lunn's start against Cal was his first since his freshman season in 2017. His 7.0 innings pitched were a career high and six strikeouts matched a career best.

 
STAT RANKINGS
BATTING:

• Doubles - CJ Stubbs (7) - T-4th Pac-12
• Sac Bunts - Chase Bushor (7) - 2nd NCAA, T-1st Pac-12
• Sac Flies - Jamal O'Guinn (3) - 32nd NCAA, T-3rd Pac-12

PITCHING:

• ERA - Isaac Esqueda (1.21) - 7th Pac-12
• Saves - Chris Clarke (3) - T-2nd Pac-12
• Opp. BA - Isaac Esqueda (.176) - 5th Pac-12
• Pickoffs - Isaac Esqueda (2) - T-1st Pac-12
• Hits Allowed - Isaac Esqueda (13) - 4th Pac-12

FIELDING:

• Fielding Pct. - Brandon Perez (1.000) - T-1st Pac-12
• Assists - Chase Bushor (62) - 1st Pac-12
• Runners Caught Stealing - CJ Stubbs (4) - T-4th Pac-12

TEAM:

• Pickoffs (4) - 2nd Pac-12
• Double Plays (13) - 3rd Pac-12

 
DODGER STADIUM CLASSIC: USC once again played in the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic, falling to then-No. 2 UCLA 7-5 on March 10 in Chavez Ravine. Leading up to the final at Dodger Stadium, the Trojans lost at home to Oklahoma State 11-6 on March 8 and beat then-No. 16 Michigan 4-1 at home on March 9. Michigan and Oklahoma State played at Dodger Stadium prior to the Trojans and Bruins on March 10, with Oklahoma State coming out on top 3-2. The Trojans and Bruins are now 4-4 against each other at Dodger Stadium since 2010.
 
THE ROSTER: The Trojans return 25 players from last year's roster and welcome a total of 10 newcomers heading into the season. The team has 3 seniors, 11 juniors (2 RS), 11 sophomores (1 RS) and 10 freshmen (1 RS). There are 17 pitchers (8 left, 9 right) and 18 position players.
 
THE SCHEDULE: USC plays its first 13 games at Dedeaux Field before facing UCLA at Dodger Stadium before finally hitting the road for the first time in the third week of March. The Trojans play 32 games at home and 24 games on the road this season. The 56 game slate features seven teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year and three that were in the College World Series, including both of the teams from the championship final, Arkansas and Oregon State.
 
STOPPER WATCH: Connor Lunn was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year (given to the top reliever in college baseball each year) watch list early this season. Lunn was the Trojans' closer all of 2018, leading the team with eight saves over the course of 30.1 innings pitched and 22 total relief appearances. The junior righty boasted a 2.97 ERA while striking out 32 batters and walking just nine last season.
 
RECRUITING CLASS: The Trojans welcomed the 14th ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Baseball America and the 16th ranked class according to Perfect Game. Perfect Game also had the USC class as the highest rated class on the West Coast. D1baseball.com had the Trojan class ranked No. 21.
 
SUMMER BALL: 14 Trojans spread our across the country to play summer ball this offseason, with four playing in the famed Cape Cod League (Blake Sabol, Kyle Hurt, Connor Lunn, Ben Ramirez). Four USC players earned All-Star or All-League honors in their respective leagues; Sabol (Chatham Anglers, Cape Cod League), John Thomas (Arroyo Seco Saints, California Collegiate League), Chris Clarke (Bethesda Big Train, Cal Ripken Collegiate League) and Brady Shockey (Palm Springs Power, Southern California Collegiate League). Sabol especially stood out as one of the top prospects in the Cape and even made an appearance in the league's home run derby. He was named to the Perfect Game Collegiate Summer All-American second team.
 
PROSPECT RANKINGS: In the latest D1Baseball prospect rankings for the next two draft classes, four Trojans were ranked. In the 2019 draft class (350 ranked), Kyle Hurt is the 53rd ranked prospect, Blake Sabol is 63rd and Chris Clarke is 324. In the 2020 class (150 ranked), Chandler Champlain is 64th.
 
IMPACT FRESHMEN: D1Baseball ranked the Top 100 impact freshmen in college baseball and three USC rookies were ranked. Chandler Champlain is ranked No. 11, Preston Hartsell No. 91 and Clay Owens No. 94.
 
ALL-PAC-12 RETURNERS: The Trojans bring back a trio of players who earned All Pac-12 honorable mention last year, with Connor Lunn, Chase Bushor and Blake Sabol all returning to this year's squad. Lunn led the team with eight saves and had a 2.97 ERA, Bushor was second on the team with a .301 average and Sabol drove in 24 runs with 14 extra-base hits last year.
 
DRAFTED: The Trojans had a trio of players selected in last year's MLB Draft. RHP Solomon Bates was taken in the eighth round (226 overall) by the San Francisco Giants, OF Lars Nootbaar was also selected in the eighth round by the St. Louis Cardinals (243 overall) and 1B Dillon Paulson was taken in the 13th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
 
USC TO THE MLB: No other school can claim a larger number of alumni who have made it to the big leagues, with 113 Trojans having played in the MLB. The list includes three Trojans who have made it to the MLB Hall of Fame (Randy Johnson, Tom Seaver, Pat Gillick), nine Cy Young Awards (Johnson 5 times, Seaver 3 times, Barry Zito once), three Rookie of the Years (Seaver, Fred Lynn, Mark McGwire), one American League MVP (Lynn), one World Series MVP (Johnson), 29 World Series appearances and 67 All-Star Game appearances. In all, 333 Trojans have been selected in the MLB Draft.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Trojans have an unparalleled history of championship success at the College World Series, winning 12 total national titles (1948, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1998). The 12 titles are double any other team in the country and were won in 21 CWS appearances by the Trojans. USC won five straight NCAA Championships from 1970-74, a feat no other program has accomplished.