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Trojans Set to Face Arizona in Pac-12 Championship

by usctrojans.com
May 25, 2024

SATURDAY: The USC baseball team takes on the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Tournament Championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Scottsdale, Ariz. The winner will secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
GAME SCHEDULE:
Saturday - #4 USC vs. #1 Arizona (Scottsdale, Ariz.), May 25, 7 pm (ESPNU)
 
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Saturday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (2-3, 4.24 ERA) vs. ARIZ: RHP Cam Walty (8-1, 2.76 ERA)
 
ROAD TO THE FINAL: 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. The Trojans then took down Cal, 7-4, in the semifinal matchup to earn a berth into Saturday's title game. It is USC's first time playing in the Pac-12 Tournament title game. The Trojans are riding a nine-game winning streak coming into Saturday.
 
BROADCAST INFO: Saturday's Pac-12 Tournament Championship game will be broadcast live on ESPNU, with Roxy Bernstein and Wes Clements on the call.
 
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 (formerly Twitter), @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.
 
FRIDAY VS CAL: USC had to come from behind to win its semifinal matchup with Cal, erasing an early 2-0 deficit to take down the Bears 7-4 on Friday afternoon. Brayden Dowd hit a three-run homer to give USC the lead in the fourth inning, and after Cal again tied it up, Austin Overn hit a sacrifice fly to put USC back on top in the seventh. Tyler Stromsborg tossed 6.0 innings in the start, a trio of relievers got USC out of the top of the seventh still tied, and Josh Blum picked up his third save of the tournament with 2.0 scoreless innings.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS ARIZONA: The Trojans hold a 129-117-1 lead in the all-time series between the teams. The Wildcats won the season series this year, taking 2-of-3 from the Trojans in Irvine. The teams first played in 1921.
 
STREAKING: USC came into the postseason on a six-game winning streak and have stretched it to nine consecutive wins with its three tourney 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. USC's win over Cal was its ninth in a row. Over that span, USC is giving up an average of 3.5 runs per game, while scoring 7.9 runs per game. The streak is the Trojans' longest since USC opened the 2015 season with 12 wins in a row en route to an NCAA Regional appearance that season.
 
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, and back-to-back 30-win seasons overall 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 .325 batting average and leads USC with 74 hits. His 24 multi-hit games are the most of any Trojan, and his 10 multi-RBI games are second on the team. At the Pac-12 Tournament, Jackson is hitting .500 (6-for-12) and has an OPS of 1.404, with 2 runs and 2 RBI.
  • Xavier Martinez leads USC with 30 pitching appearances this year, good for 1st in the Pac-12 and 14th 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 45 batters in just 32.2 innings pitched this year, holding opponents to a .125 batting average. He has 10 saves on the year, good for 3rd in the Pac-12 and 16th in the country, and owns a 1.65 ERA. At the Pac-12 Tournament, Blum leads the field with three saves and is one of 4 pitchers with at least 4.0 innings pitched and a 0.00 ERA.
  • Tyler Stromsborg's 2.15 walks/9 this season is the third best average in the Pac-12 and his 3.33 K/BB ratio is 7th in the conference. 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. In Friday's semifinal matchup vs. Cal, Stromsborg tossed 6.0 innings, giving up 8 hits and 4 runs, while walking none and striking out 3.
  • 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 .319 in 42 games played and has driven in 25 runs and scored 26 runs for the Trojans. Dowd picked up the game-winning hit for USC against Utah, hitting an RBI double in the eighth inning, and then came up clutch against Cal in the semifinals, driving in 4 of USC's 7 runs, with a 3-run homer and an RBI groundout.
  • Caden Aoki missed time in the middle part of the season due to shoulder soreness, but returned against Washington State (5/11) and has increased his workload each time out. In Tuesday's opener against Utah, Aoki tossed 4.0 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. For the season, he owns a 4.24 ERA.
  • Since coming back from a hand injury on 5/7 against LBSU, Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek has been on a tear at the plate, hitting safely in all but one contest and posting a .372 batting average over the 10-game stretch. In the Pac-12 Tournament alone, Martin-Grudzielanek is hitting .455 (5-for-11), with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.

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