USC Baseball to Face Cal in Pac-12 Semifinals

FRIDAY: The USC baseball team faces off against Cal in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Scottsdale. The teams will compete for a spot in Saturday's Pac-12 Championship Game (scheduled for 7 p.m.), with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament going to the winner.
 
GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC vs. California (Scottsdale, Ariz.), May 24, 2:30 pm (Pac-12 Networks)
Saturday - Pac-12 Championship (Scottsdale, Ariz.), May 25, 7 pm (Pac-12 Networks)
 
PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: RHP Tyler Stromsborg (4-9, 5.46 ERA) vs. CAL: LHP Ian May (0-1, 5.96 ERA)
 
ROAD TO THE SEMIS: The Trojans went 2-0 in pool play to earn their spot in the semifinals, beating Utah, 7-6, in the opening game and Oregon, 4-2, on Thursday. It is USC's first time advancing past pool play in the Pac-12 Tournament. USC has won eight in a row coming into Friday's semifinal matchup.
 
BROADCAST INFO: All semifinal games at the Pac-12 Tournament will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks. Darron Sutton and Donnie Marbut will have the call for USC's matchup with Cal.
 
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.
 
TUESDAY VS UTAH: USC took down the Utes for the fourth straight time on Tuesday to open up pool play at the Pac-12 Tournament, beating Utah 7-6 thanks to an eighth inning comeback. The Trojans scored three in the eighth to pick up the victory. USC has now won seven in a row heading into its matchup with Oregon on Thursday.
 
THURSDAY VS OREGON: USC handled business against the Ducks on Thursday, getting 6.0 stellar innings from Will Watson in a 4-2 victory. Watson held the Ducks in check until Ryan Jackson broke through with a solo-homer in the sixth to spark a three-run inning for USC. The teams traded a run down the stretch, but USC's All-Pac-12 duo of Xavier Martinez and Josh Blum closed things out, with Martinez giving up one run in 2.0 innings and Blum picking up his ninth save with a scoreless final frame.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS CAL: USC is 242-153-2 all-time against California. The Trojans dropped 2-of-3 in the season series this year, winning the opener at home in Irvine before falling in the final two games. USC took 2-of-3 at Cal last year.
 
STREAKING: USC came into the postseason on a six-game winning streak and have stretched it to eighth consecutive wins with its two pool play victories, marking the longest streak of the season for the Trojans. USC won the final two games of its series at Washington State, beat Gonzaga on the road in a midweek contest, and then swept Utah at home, before taking down the Utes once more and then defeating Oregon on Thursday. Over that span, USC is giving up an average of 3.5 runs per game, while scoring 7.9 runs per game.
 
REGULAR SEASON RECAP: USC had a slow start to the season, playing to a 7-13 record (.350 winning percentage) through the first month of the year. From then until the end of the regular season, the Trojans went 21-14 (.600 winning percentage) to climb above .500 for the year. The Trojans won five Pac-12 series this season, including sweeps of Washington, Utah and Oregon State (two games). USC had five wins over ranked opponents this season.
 
CONTINUING TO BUILD: The Trojans are continuing the rebuild process under second-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz, finishing fourth in the conference and with 17 Pac-12 wins for the second straight season. The back-to-back 17-win seasons in the conference are the first since 2001 and 2002 under Hall of Fame coach Mike Gillespie. The consecutive fourth place finishes mark the first time USC has finished in the top four in the conference in back-to-back seasons since 2014 and 2015 (USC's last regional appearance).
 
PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

• The Austin Overn triple machine keeps rolling as he has five triples this season, good for 3rd in the Pac-12 and 17th 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 USC's career record at 20 (Grant Green 2007-09).
• Ryan Jackson has become USC's most consistent offensive producer over the course of the year. He owns a .320 batting average and leads USC with 72 hits. His 23 multi-hit games are the most of any Trojan, and his 10 multi-RBI games are second on the team.
• Xavier Martinez leads USC with 29 pitching appearances this year, good for 1st in the Pac-12 and 20th in the country. He owns a 2.28 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched, with opponents hitting .175 against him.
• Trojan closer Josh Blum has struck out 44 batters in just 30.2 innings pitched this year, holding opponents to a .125 batting average. He has 9 saves on the year, good for 3rd in the Pac-12 and 25th in the country, and owns a 1.76 ERA.
• Tyler Stromsborg's 2.15 walks/9 this season is the third best average in the Pac-12. Stromsborg tossed 6.0 innings and gave up no earned runs in the season finale vs. Utah, and two starts prior, tossed 7.0 scoreless innings against Cal.
• William Watson has developed into USC's most consistent starter on the mound after beginning the season out of the bullpen. His last 9 appearances have been starts after 7 relief appearances early on, and in his last 7 starts, Watson has thrown at least 5.0 innings each time. Over the last 6 starts, he has given up more than 3 runs only twice (both times 4 runs), with USC going 5-2 in games he starts over that span. He had is best start of the year against Oregon last time out, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing just one run.
• Brayden Dowd has solidified himself as a genuine offensive threat for USC. Dowd is batting .321 in 41 games played and has driven in 21 runs and scored 25 runs for the Trojans. Dowd picked up the game-winning hit for USC against Utah, hitting an RBI double in the eighth inning.