USC Baseball Falls Just Short in Pac-12 Title Game

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The USC Baseball team fell in a heartbreaking final at the Pac-12 Championship Game on Saturday night in Scottsdale as the Wildcats walked it off in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 win.
 
USC falls to 31-28 with the loss, coming up just a game short of the title after winning its three previous contests at the tournament. USC had been on a nine-game winning streak heading into Saturday night. Arizona moves to 36-21 on the year and secures the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Caden Aoki was masterful on the mound for USC as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before giving up his lone hit of the night. Aoki, who was working on short rest after pitching on Tuesday, left with two men on and one would score for his lone charged run of the night. He struck out eighth batters and walked just one.
 
USC put the first run of the title game on the board in the top of the third, when Ryan Jackson doubled to centerfield to score Dean Carpentier. The Trojans tacked on two more the very next inning, getting back-to-back triples from Ethan Hedges and Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, and then a run-scoring double from Brayden Dowd to go up 3-0.
 
After the Wildcats scored one in the seventh, they would put up two in the eighth to tie it up. The walkoff hit came from Tommy Splaine on a 2-1 count to drive in the winning run from second.
 
USC's Brayden Dowd, Ryan Jackson, Kevin Takeuchi and Caden Aoki were named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Caden Aoki: 6.1 IP, H, R, BB, 8K
• Ryan Jackson: 1-for-4, RBI
• Brayden Dowd: 2-for-4, RBI
• Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4, RBI, R

 
COMING UP
USC will wait to see if it receives an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament with the selection show scheduled for Monday at 9 a.m. PT.