USC Baseball Resumes Big Ten Play at Minnesota

THIS WEEK: The USC baseball team resumes conference play, traveling to Minnesota for a three-game series starting on Friday, followed by a nonconference matchup on Tuesday at CSUN. The Trojans have won nine of their last twelve games, won six series in a row, and are coming off a series win against Gonzaga.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), Apr 25, 4 p.m. PT/6 p.m. CT (B1G+)
Saturday - USC at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), Apr 26, 4 p.m. PT/6 p.m. CT (B1G+)
Sunday - USC at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), Apr 27, 11 a.m. PT/1 p.m. CT (B1G+)
Tuesday - USC at CSUN (Northridge, Calif.), Apr 29, 6 p.m. PT (ESPN+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: LHP Caden Hunter (6-2, 3.74 ERA) vs. UM: RHP Joe Sperry (4-0, 3.89 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Caden Aoki (3-2, 5.30 ERA) vs. UM: RHP Kyle Remington (1-5, 4.15 ERA)
Sunday - USC: TBA vs. UM: TBA

BROADCAST INFO: All games this weekend against Minnesota will be broadcast on B1G+ and Tuesday's game will be 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 followed at @USC_Baseball on X, at @sctrojans_baseball on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.

2025 HOME GAMES: For the second season in a row, USC will play the majority of its home games at Great Park in Irvine due to construction on the new Dedeaux Field, which is scheduled to be completed prior to the 2026 season. Most midweek games will be held at LMU. All USC home games this season will be free and open to the public. For more information visit USCTrojans.com/baseballgameday.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS HAWAI'I: The Rainbow Warriors and Trojans have met 56 times in their histories, with USC owning a 30-26 record against Hawai'i. The first matchup came in 1968, with the Trojans winning at Hawai'i, 16-0. The most recent matchup was a 9-7 Hawai'i victory in 2022 at Dedeaux Field.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS MINNESOTA: The Trojans are 2-4 against the Golden Gophers, with the first matchup in 1960, and the most recent in 1989. The two programs met in 1973 in the semifinal of the College World Series. The Trojans won 8-7 and went on to win the championship the next day over Arizona State for the 9th National Championship in the program's history. USC's incredible 8-7 victory over Minnesota is widely considered one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA history in any sport. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Trojans had been held to just one hit and were being shut out, 7-0, by Gopher pitcher and longtime major leaguer Dave Winfield (who had 15 K's in eight innings). But Troy sent 11 men to the plate, coming up with eight singles, a sacrifice fly and a stolen base (as well as three Minnesota errors) to score eight runs and win the game. Pinch-hitter Ken Huizenga led off the ninth with a single and then his sacrifice fly tied the game at seven runs apiece. USC won it on outfielder Creighton Tevlin's RBI single.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS CSUN: The Trojans own a 56-25 record against the Matadors, with the first ever matchup coming in 1962, which was a 23-6 USC vicotry. The most recent meeting came in 2023 with an 8-5 Trojan win at Dedeaux Field.

MIDWEEK WIN AT LBSU: USC picked up a dominant win over Long Beach State on Tuesday, taking down the Dirtbags 12-2. Five USC pitchers combined to hold LBSU to two runs on four hits, while striking out 14 batters. USC put up five runs in both the fourth and ninth innings, getting three hits and two RBI from Ethan Hedges to lead a 13-hit game for the Trojan offense.

SIXTH STRAIGHT SERIES WIN VS GONZAGA: The Trojans took two-of-three games against Gonzaga last week, dropping the opener and then rebounding to win the last two of the series. It was the sixth straight series win for USC. Adrian Lopez led the way going 8-13 at the plate with 6 RBI, 6 runs scored, 2 homers, 2 doubles, and a triple.

2025 PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Ethan Hedges has not only been the Trojans' offensive leader this season, but has established himself as one of the nation's top closers as well. Hedges ranks 5th in the Big Ten with 58 hits and a .377 batting average. His 109 total bases and a .708 slugging percentage is good for 6th in the conference. He is 11th in the conference with 44 RBI, his 11 home runs are the most on the team and also 10th in the league, and his OBP of .490 is 7th in the league. Hedges has reached base safely in 38 of 40 games so far this year. He is also 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts. Hedges has 8 saves so far this season, a total that is 14th in the NCAA and 2nd in the Big Ten. In 11.0 innings pitched, he has only allowed 7 hits while striking out 11 batters and holding opponents to a .179 batting average. Hedges has hit a home run and been credited with a save in the same game 5 times this season. Against Ohio State, Hedges added 4 hits, including a home run and his 4th triple of the year. At Indiana, Hedges went 9-13, with 4 home runs, while scoring 5 runs, and posting 9 RBI. On Tuesday at Long Beach State, Hedges hit his 5th triple of the year. Several midseason awards were announced in early April with Hedges being named a D1Baseball Midseason First-Team All-American and the Perfect Game Midseason 2-Way Player of the Year. Hedges was also named to the NCAA Lineup of the Week for the second time this season after his performance in Bloomington.
Brayden Dowd has begun his sophomore season hitting .307 for the Trojans. The center fielder ranks 2nd in the Big Ten in walks (38), while also hitting 8 home runs. His 37 runs scored is second most of the team, and his 30 RBI, and 47 hits are all third on the team. He also has 3 stolen bases on the year, and has while reached base in 39 of 40 games for the Trojans. Dowd has proven to have the clutch gene time and time again as he cranked a go-ahead home run in the 9th on Saturday against Indiana, and the following weekend he hit a game-tying solo-home run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th on Sunday against Ohio State. Dowd's 12 multiple-hit games are fifth on the team, and his 9 multiple-RBI games are second on the team.
Abbrie Covarrubias is hitting .328, with 44 hits which is fourth on the team, and has seven doubles, two triples and three home runs. In four starts against LMU and Penn State, the sophomore led the Trojans in hits (8), RBI (8), runs (5), total bases (15), extra-base hits (4) and stolen bases (3). For the week, he batted .500 (8-for-16) with an OPS of 1.494. Covarrubias posted two doubles, one triple and one home run and this performance led him to be named the Big Ten Player of the Week. He was also named to the NCAA Lineup of the Week after his performance. Against LMU he matched his career high with 5 RBI. He also drove in 4 runs against Michigan on Friday to lead the Trojans to a 7-4 victory. After a slow start to the season, he has hits in 20 of his last 26 games.
Adrian Lopez, a sophomore transfer from LBSU, hit the first home run of the season for USC, with a grand slam in the first inning on Saturday of opening weekend. Lopez had 8 homers for the Dirtbags last year. This past weekend against Gonzaga, he led the way for the Trojans going 8-13 at the plate with 6 RBI, 6 runs scored, 2 homers, 2 doubles, and a triple. Against Penn State he had two hits on Saturday followed by three hits on Sunday, having a double in both games and an RBI in the series finale. Against Nebraska, he had 6 hits in the series including a home run on Sunday. He tallied another multiple hit game against UC Irvine, with a double and a home run. He is slashing .314/.386/.550.
Caden Hunter, a junior transfer from Sierra College, has been electric on the mound for the Trojans on Friday nights, pitching to a 3.74 ERA (10th in the Big Ten) with a WHIP of 1.32. In 55.1 innings pitched, he has struck out 61 batters (4th most in the Big Ten), with his 9.92 strikeouts per nine innings 6th best in the Big Ten. He matched a season-high 7.0 innings against Penn State, giving up just one run on three hits with a season high 9 strikeouts. Hunter has been credited with the win in four of his last six Friday night starts. His six wins are 4th most in the conference, and 31st in the country. With Hunter on the mound, USC is 7-3 in series openers.
Caden Aoki posted the biggest performance of the year against No. 14 Vanderbilt on March 1st, throwing 7.0 innings, giving up just 4 hits and 1 walk, and not allowing an earned run. His 10 strikeouts were a career high. Aoki was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for his efforts against Vandy. He is the first USC pitcher to earn the award this season. Against Penn State he matched his season high 7.0 innings pitched, giving up two runs on three hits with six strikeouts, getting credited for the win. His 9.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 1st in the conference and 3rd in the country, with his 1.21 WHIP is 16th in the conference. His .96 walks per 9 are 1st in the conference and 2nd in the country.
Brodie Purcell has been impressive out of the bullpen for the Trojans, pitching to a 0.92 ERA in 20 appearances. In 29.1 innings he has 39 K's and has given up just 16 hits. He has given up just 1 earned run in his last 14 appearances, in 23.2 innings. His 20 appearances is 2nd most in the Big Ten.
Andrew Harbour had a breakout relief performance on Sunday against Ohio State, in just his third appearance on the mound this season, Harbour tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out 6 of the 9 batters he faced.

Team Stat Rankings:
9.7 K/9 - 2nd B10, 39th NCAA
3.90 BB/9 - 1st B10, 53rd NCAA
2.48 K/BB ratio - 1st B10, 37th NCAA
1.41 WHIP - 4th B10, 50th NCAA
4.92 ERA - 5th B10, 70th NCAA
13 triples - 1st B10, 28th NCAA
No. 44 - RPI

USC Baseball Resumes Big Ten Play at Minnesota

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Abbrie Covarrubias

Brayden Dowd

Andrew Harbour

Ethan Hedges

Caden Hunter

Adrian Lopez

Brodie Purcell

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University Southern California Trojans

USC Baseball Resumes Big Ten Play at Minnesota

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caden Aoki

Abbrie Covarrubias

Brayden Dowd

Andrew Harbour

Ethan Hedges

Caden Hunter

Adrian Lopez

Brodie Purcell

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