USC Baseball Heads to Washington State, Gonzaga

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team hits the road for four games in Washington State, taking on the Cougars for a Pac-12 series over the weekend and then heading to Spokane to face Gonzaga for a non-conference matchup. USC can clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament with two wins at Washington State.
 
GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC at Washington St. (Pullman, Wash.), May 10, 6 pm (Pac-12 Los Angeles)
Saturday - USC at Washington St. (Pullman, Wash.), May 11, 2 pm (Pac-12 Los Network)
Sunday - USC at Washington St. (Pullman, Wash.), May 12, 12 pm (Pac-12 Los Angeles)
Tuesday - USC at Gonzaga (Spokane, Wash.), May 14, 6:00 pm (ESPN+)
 
PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: RHP Tyler Stromsborg (3-8, 4.85 ERA) vs. WSU: RHP Grant Taylor (4-3, 3.44 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (2-3, 4.66 ERA) vs. WSU: RHP Connor Wilford (4-6, 4.92 ERA)
Sunday - USC: RHP Will Watson (2-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. WSU: RHP Duke Brotherton (5-6, 4.40 ERA)
 
BROADCAST INFO: All three weekend matchups against Washington State will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks, and Tuesday's contest at Gonzaga can be found on ESPN+. Links to 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 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 found at @USC_Baseball on X, @sctrojans_baseball on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.
 
SERIES VS WSU: USC is 80-36-1 all-time against the Cougars. The Trojans swept last season's series in Los Angeles. WSU took two-of-three the last time the series was in Pullman in 2022.
 
LAST WEEKEND VS CAL: USC took the opener against Cal, but dropped the final two games. Tyler Stromsborg led the way in the opening game, tossing 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and no walks.
 
TUESDAY VS LONG BEACH STATE: The Trojans made an eighth-inning comeback against Long Beach State on Tuesday, tying the game on a bases-loaded ground rule double from Carson Wells, but USC was unable to finish the job, falling 7-6 in the 12th inning.
 
PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

• With two wins this weekend, the Trojans can clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament.
• The Austin Overn triple machine keeps rolling as he has five triples this season, good for second in the Pac-12 and eighth most in the country. Overn set USC's single season triples as a freshman last year with 14, and is now just one away from tying the program's career record at 20.
• Jacob Galloway has been leading the Trojans at the plate all season, hitting .306 on the year with a team-high 36 RBI. Galloway also leads the team with a .897 OPS. He owns 11 multi-hit games, 8 multi-RBI games and had a 22 game hitting streak earlier this year.
• Ryan Jackson has been swinging a hot bat of late, hitting safely in 5 straight coming into the weekend, including 3 multi-hit games over that stretch (10-for-24). On the year, Jackson is 2nd on the team with a .305 average, posting a team-high 57 hits.
• Tyler Stromsborg put up the best start by a USC pitcher this season last time out, tossing 7.0 shutout innings and allowing just three hits and no walks against Cal. Stromsborg has a team high 46 strikeouts on the year and his 2.26 walks/9 is the 6th best total in the Pac-12.
• Xavier Martinez leads USC with 25 pitching appearances this year, good for 2nd in the Pac-12 and 22nd in the country. He owns a 2.11 ERA in 38.1 innings pitched, with opponents hitting .190 against him.
• Trojan closer Josh Blum has struck out 38 batters in just 26.2 innings pitched this year, holding opponents to a .114 batting average. He has 6 saves on the year, good for 5th in the Pac-12.
• USC is 2nd in the Pac-12 with 45 stolen bases this year.
• USC owns a .973 fielding percentage, 3rd best in the Pac-12.
• The Trojans lead the Pac-12 in both sacrifice bunts (28) and sacrifice flies (24).