LOS ANGELES – The USC baseball team came back from an early deficit and shut down the Pepperdine Waves at Dedeaux Field on Tuesday night, cruising to a 5-2 victory.
The non-conference win moves USC to 15-20 on the year and drops Pepperdine to 17-15.
The Trojans gave up a pair of runs in the first four innings, but held the visiting Waves scoreless over the final five frames, stranding eight Pepperdine runners on base. The USC pitching staff struck out six batters and walked just two on the day.
After falling behind 2-0, the Trojans got a run back on a solo-homer by
Matthew Acosta in the fourth, and then posted three runs in the fifth to take the lead. USC tied the game on a wild pitch and then plated the go-ahead run on a delayed double-steal.
Ben Ramirez would single home the third run of the inning. The Trojans followed with a run in the sixth on an RBI single by
CJ Stubbs to extend their lead.
Chandler Champlain tossed the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as the Trojans grabbed back the lead, giving up just three hits and one run.
John Beller would work around a leadoff single to throw a scoreless seventh, while
Carson Lambert and
Chris Clarke each struck out two batters and held the Waves scoreless in the final two innings.
The Trojans have now posted double digit hits in six of their last seven games. Tuesday was the fourth time the USC pitching staff has walked two or fewer batters in a game.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Ben Ramirez went 3-for-4 at the plate, driving in one run.
- Blake Sabol had two hits and scored a run.
- Chandler Champlain tossed 3.0 innings, giving up three hits and one run to pick up his first career win.
- Carson Lambert struck out two batters and tossed a perfect inning to hold the lead in the eighth.
- Chris Clarke struck out two and got a flyout in the ninth to pick up his fourth save of the year.
COMING UP
USC hosts Washington State for another Pac-12 series starting on Thursday at 6 p.m.