USC’s quiet offense paves way for Long Beach State upset
Jared Chavez
Host · Writer
The No.12 USC Trojans struggled to suppress the Long Beach State Dirtbags offense and develop run production of their own in a 5-3 loss, Tuesday evening.
The Trojans never found their footing on the mound and fell victim to a dominant pitching performance early to put them in a quick hole.
Long Beach State added to the scoreboard first with a two-RBI double pushed to left field by Kaiden Smaka in the first inning. The Dirtbags continued to bring runs home in the fourth inning, despite a Trojan pitching change from Chase Herrell to Garren Rizzo, with a sacrifice fly ball from Trotter Enright and a Jake Evans single to center field.
USC spent the majority of the afternoon struggling to put runners on base, as Long Beach State pitcher Caleb Anderson stacked nine strikeouts and just one hit over six innings pitched. This comes after Anderson pitched just 1.1 innings and gave up eight runs against Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
USC’s first hit of the game came in the fourth inning off an Isaac Cadena single. This ultimately led to three quick outs to end the inning, preventing opportunity to establish momentum. But their first run finally showed face after a seventh-inning pitching change from Long Beach State that introduced Jaxon Baker for Anderson.
A flurry of USC pinch hitters took the plate after a Maximo Martinez walk. Will Stickney subbed in for Andrew Lamb and poked a base hit to right field. Later in the inning, Jack Basseer pinch hit for Maddox Riske and doubled to right-center to score Martinez. But the Dirtbags responded their next at-bat with a run of their own coming from a sacrifice ground out by Smaka.
The eighth inning showed potential for a USC comeback. Cadena, the lone Trojan to establish a multi-hit game, knocked a single to center off of Tyler Gebb. Designated hitter Augie Lopez ripped a two-run home run to right field to put USC down just two runs soon after. But the late-game heroics were not enough to keep the Trojans’ bats warm, eventually going down in order for the remainder of the game.
This loss puts USC’s overall record to 30-8 with an away record of 8-7. The Trojans are 0-5 in their last five away games, having won their last in Maryland on March 29.
As their shaky performance on the road continues, the Trojans will head to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the 29-9 Cornhuskers in a Big 10 juggernaut matchup from April 17 to April 19. Nebraska has been nearly unbeatable at home, posting a 16-1 record.
Long Beach’s record improves to 12-23 following the upset victory. The Dirtbags will host the 20-18 San Diego State Aztecs Wednesday on the second night of their back-to-back.
