No. 20 USC Baseball Hosts UC Irvine, Exhibition vs. Waseda University

Tuesday, March 3

Los Angeles, Calif.

6:00 p.m. PT

USC

UC Irvine

Photo by: John McGillen

No. 20 USC Baseball Hosts UC Irvine, Exhibition vs. Waseda University

March 02, 2026 | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK: The No. 20 USC baseball team returns to Dedeaux Field for a midweek matchup with UC Irvine on Tuesday and an exhibition against Waseda University from Japan on Wednesday. The Trojans take an 11-0 record into their fourth week of play.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Tuesday - USC vs. UC Irvine (Dedeaux Field), March 3, 6:05 p.m. (B1G+)
Wednesday - Exhibition: USC vs. Waseda Univ. (Dedeaux Field), March 4, 6:05 p.m.

BROADCAST INFO: Tuesday's game against UCI will be broadcast on B1G+. A link to the broadcast is 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 UCI: USC is 37-41 all-time against the Anteaters. The Trojans have won three of the last four in the series, with the teams splitting two games last year and USC winning both meetings in 2024.

IN THE RANKINGS: After breaking into the rankings last week at No. 25, the Trojans moved up to No. 20 in the latest Perfect Game poll, No. 22 in Baseball America's rankings and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. USC is off to an 11-0 start, the program's best since 2015, when the Trojans opened the year 12-0. USC is outscoring opponents 83-21 through the first three weeks of the season.

FOUR-GAME SWEEP IN SLO: USC picked up a four-game sweep at Cal Poly this past week, shutting the Mustangs out in the opening two games, then blasting the home team 16-2 on Saturday and finishing it with an 8-6 win in 11 innings on Sunday. USC took a no-hitter into the 11th inning on Friday night, scoring six runs in the top of the 11th to break a scoreless tie. Cal Poly got its lone hit of the game with one out in the 11th, but never pushed across a run. USC cruised to a 4-0 win in the opener on Thursday night.

EDWARDS' B1G AWARD: Mason Edwards was named the B1G Pitcher of the Week after tossing 7.0 hitless and scoreless innings on Friday night against Cal Poly. The junior lefty matched his career high with 11 strikeouts for the second week in a row. So far this season, Edwards has allowed just one hit and no runs in three starts, tossing 18.0 innings.

PITCHING DOMINANCE: The Trojan pitching staff has been dominant through three weeks of play, posting the No. 1 ERA (1.23) in the country, No. 2 WHIP (0.91), No. 2 Hits/9 (4.91) and No. 11 K/9.

WEEKEND SWEEP VS RICE: The Trojans recorded a dominant sweep of Rice in the second week of the season. In Friday's 5-0 win, Will Stickney launched his first career home run to break a scoreless tie in the third, while Mason Edwards struck out a career-high 11 over 6.0 scoreless innings, combining with Gavin Lauridsen to shut out the Owls. Grant Govel followed with another strong outing on Saturday, tossing 6.0 scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and matching Edwards with a career-high 11 strikeouts to secure the series. On Sunday, USC held on for a 4-2 win as Sax Matson escaped an eighth-inning jam and Adam Troy recorded his fourth save, with Rohan Kasanagottu and Diego Velazquez each tossing scoreless innings in their collegiate debuts.

MIDWEEK WIN VS LMU: Last week, the Trojans picked up its second run-rule victory of the season, taking down LMU 14-4 in seven innings. All nine starters drove in runs in the game as USC scored four runs in the fifth to break a 4-4 tie and then put up five runs in the sixth.

OPENING WEEKEND SWEEP: The Trojans opened the 2026 season with a sweep of Pepperdine, taking down the Waves 3-1 on opening night and then breaking out the bats for 11-0 and 8-5 victories. USC's starting pitchers were masterful, combining for 16.0 scoreless innings with 3 hits allowed, 3 walks and 24 strikeouts. The Trojans picked up a run-rule no-hitter on Saturday, getting 6.0 hitless innings from Grant Govel and 1.0 hitless inning from Cameron Fausset, while Andrew Lamb hit a walkoff homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Trojans an 11-0 lead and invoke the run rule (10 run lead after 7 innings). Adam Troy also had two saves against his former team, saving the opener and finale. Mason Edwards tossed 5.0 scoreless on Friday and Andrew Johnson threw 5.0 scoreless on Sunday. Kevin Takeuchi led the way offensively, going 5-for-10 (.500) at the plate, with 6 RBI.