No. 12 USC Baseball Resumes Big Ten Play at Northwestern

Friday, March 13

Evanston, Ill.

1:00 p.m. PT

USC

Northwestern

Adam Troy Celebrates coming off the mound at Dedeaux Field.

Photo by: Katie Chin

No. 12 USC Baseball Resumes Big Ten Play at Northwestern

March 12, 2026 | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK: The No. 12 USC baseball team heads to Chicago for its first conference road series of the season, facing Northwestern in a three-game set beginning Friday. The teams will now play a doubleheader on Saturday to close the series, due to inclement weather in the forecast on Sunday.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC vs. Northwestern (Rocky and Berenice Miller Park), March 13, 1 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Saturday - USC vs. Northwestern (Rocky and Berenice Miller Park, March 14, 11 a.m. PT (B1G+)
Saturday - USC vs. Northwestern (Rocky and Berenice Miller Park, March 14, 45 mins after Game One (B1G+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Friday - USC: LHP Mason Edwards (3-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. NU: LHP Ryan Weaver (0-1, 5.66 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Grant Govel (4-0, 0.35 ERA) vs. NU: RHP Garrett Shearer (0-0, 4.91 ERA)
Saturday - USC: RHP Andrew Johnson (2-0, 1.77 ERA) vs. NU: Matt Kouser (1-3, 3.24 ERA)

BROADCAST INFO: All three games against the Wildcats will be broadcast on B1G+. 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.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS NORTHWESTERN: USC holds an 3-0 all-time record against the Wildcats. The two programs met for the first and last time in 2014.

WALKOFF VS SDU: The Trojans closed out this midweek matchup with its perfect record intact after a 7-6 walkoff victory in the 10th inning. San Diego scored in the fourth inning to take a 2–1 lead, but Andrew Lamb responded with a three-run homer in the bottom put USC back in front. San Diego briefly regained a 6–5 lead with three runs in the seventh, but Will Stickney tied the game with a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the inning. A sacrifice fly from Adrian Lopez helped push the Trojans to 17–0 on the season.

HISTORY MADE VS LBSU: The Trojans surpassed the 1988 Trojan squad for the longest season-opening winning streak in program history. Andrew Lamb got the scoring started for the Trojans with a three-run homer in the second inning, and Máximo Martínez added an RBI single in the third to give USC a 4–0 lead. The Trojans added two insurance runs in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Lamb and an RBI double by Maddox Riske to make it 6–1.

STREAKING: The Trojans' 17-0 record to start the season is the second longest winning streak in program history. The program record for a win streak at any point in a season is 19 games, set back in 1955. The Trojans are one of just two unbeaten teams remaining in the country.

CONFERENCE SWEEP VS ILLINOIS: The Trojans closed out the opening weekend of conference play with a sweep of Illinois. USC shut out the Fighting Illini in the first two games, winning both 4-0. Illinois scored its first runs of the series on Sunday, but the Trojans responded early and rallied for a 5-3 win.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Trojans moved up to No. 12 in the latest Perfect Game poll, No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and No. 20 in Baseball America's rankings, while breaking into the D1Baseball rankings at No. 25. USC is off to a 17-0 start, surpassing the 1988 USC team's 15–0 start. USC is outscoring opponents 115-35 through the first five weeks of the season.

PITCHING DOMINANCE: The Trojan pitching staff has been dominant through three weeks of play, posting the No. 1 ERA (1.44) in the country, No. 1 Hits/9 (5.00), No. 2 WHIP (0.91), and No. 18 K/9 (11.4).

2026 PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Augie Lopez has been a consistent run producer for the Trojans this season. The sophomore is currently tied for second on the team with 12 RBIs, trailing only Kevin Takeuchi. During the Rice series, Lopez drove in three of USC's four runs in one of the wins, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a two-run homer. In the matchup against UC Irvine, he went 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a home run.
Abbrie Covarrubias has gotten off to a strong start this season. In the 4-0 win over Cal Poly, the junior went 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and two stolen bases. He leads the team and the Big Ten with nine stolen bases so far, after leading last year with 15. Against UC Irvine, Covarrubias scored two runs and hit his first home run of the season.
Andrew Johnson has emerged as one of the key pitchers in USC's early-season rotation. In the series against the Cal Poly Mustangs, Johnson took the mound and pitched 6.2 innings, retiring the first 14 batters he faced before allowing a pair of hits in the fifth inning. Johnson finished the game with a career-best seven strikeouts and just one walk.
Andrew Lamb powered the Trojans through midweek games against Long Beach State and San Diego. Against Long Beach State, Lamb went 1-for-2 with four RBI and a run scored, launching a three-run homer and adding a sacrifice fly. He followed that with another three-run homer against San Diego, his third of the year.
Adam Troy ranks second on the team with nine appearances on the mound and leads the Trojans with five saves so far this season. He has a 2.31 ERA and has struck out 18 batters over 11.2 innings pitched.
Grant Govel earned both National and Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after leading USC to a 7 inning no-hitter against Pepperdine. Over 6.0 hitless innings, Govel retired 11 straight batters at one point and struck out five consecutive hitters, allowing just two baserunners (a walk and hit-by-pitch) in the Trojans' 11-0 run-rule victory. It marked Govel's first Pitcher of the Week honor, adding to last season's Big Ten Freshman of the Week recognition. The sophomore delivered another strong outing against Cal Poly, pitching 7.0 innings and allowing just one earned run on four hits in the Trojans' 16-2 victory.
Isaac Cadena has spent time both catching and playing in the outfield for the Trojans. In the second game against Illinois, Cadena drove in two of USC's four runs and is currently tied for the team lead with 11 walks at the plate.
Jack Basseer is currently batting .350, leads the team with four home runs, and is tied for third in RBIs with 11. In the last matchup against Illinois, he had two RBIs, two runs, and a home run.
Kevin Takeuchi has gotten off to a strong start batting .371 and leading the team in hits (23), RBIs (13), triples (3), and is tied for the team lead in doubles (6). He also has five stolen bases this season, second on the team to Abbrie Covarrubias.
Mason Edwards was named both the Perfect Game National and Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after leading the Trojans to an opening-game win in a series sweep of Illinois. Edwards tossed 6.0 scoreless innings in the 4–0 victory, allowing just two hits while matching his career high with 11 strikeouts for the third straight outing and recording his fourth consecutive scoreless start. He also earned the Big Ten honor the previous week after throwing 7.0 hitless, scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts in an extra-inning road win over Cal Poly.
Maximo Martinez is currently leading the team in batting average (.385) and is second on the team in on-base percentage (.467). He made a huge impact in the series against Cal Poly, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs, three runs, three doubles, and a grand slam. In the midweek game against San Diego, the sophomore went 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored, a walk, and two doubles.
Maddox Riske had himself a day in the third game of the Cal Poly series. He went 5-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs, becoming the first Trojan to record five hits in a game since 2022.
Sax Matson has established himself as a key relief pitcher for the Trojans. This season, he leads the team with ten appearances on the mound, posting a 2.77 ERA and an impressive 23/6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Combined Starting Pitcher Stats: Through the first four weekends of the season, the starting rotation has combined for 70.1 innings pitched and 94 strikeouts. Mason Edwards (24.0 IP, 42 K), Grant Govel (26.0 IP, 29 K), and Andrew Johnson (20.1 IP, 23 K) have continued to anchor the staff, delivering consistent performances each weekend on the mound.

Team Stat Rankings:
         - 1.44 ERA - 1st B10, 1st NCAA
         - 0.91 WHIP - 1st B10, 2nd NCAA
         - 11.4 K/9 - 2nd B10, 18th NCAA
         - 3.19 BB/9 - 4th B10, 20th NCAA
         - 5.00 Hits/9 - 1st NCAA
         - 3.59 K/BB ratio - 11th NCAA