No. 20 USC Baseball Scores Late to Beat UC Irvine, 6-4

Tuesday, March 3

Los Angeles, Calif.

6:00 p.m. PT

USC

12-0

UC Irvine

8-5

UC Irvine

USC

Photo by: Bryce Dechert

No. 20 USC Baseball Scores Late to Beat UC Irvine, 6-4

March 03, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

LOS ANGELES – The No. 20 USC baseball team scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to beat UC Irvine, 6-4, at home on Tuesday night, running the team's season-opening win streak to 12-0.

The lead changed hands four times in the game as the Anteaters fall to 8-5 with the loss.

UC Irvine tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the sixth, but USC came back in the bottom of the eighth and put runners on second and third with one out. Adrian Lopez scored on a groundout to third to put USC in front and then Jack Basseer tripled down the right field line to score Kevin Takeuchi and make it 6-4.

Sax Matson tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up the save, striking out two of the four batters he faced. Matson worked around a two-out hit-by-pitch, striking the final batter out looking to end the game. Cameron Faussett earned the win after 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, tossing the seventh and eighth innings for USC. Faussett gave up just one hit and struck out two.

The Trojans had to come back after UC Irvine scored three runs in the first inning. Abbrie Covarrubias hit a solo-shot in the bottom of the first and then Augie Lopez homered in the second to make it 3-2. Takeuchi singled in a run in the third to tie the game and then Augie Lopez hit a sacrifice fly to put the Trojans ahead.

UC Irvine scored on a balk call in the sixth to tie it back up, as the visitors only had three hits over the final six innings.

USC's 12-0 start to the season matches the Trojans' 12-game start to open the 2015 season. The longest win streak to start a season in program history was 15-0 in 1988.

TOP PERFORMERS

Cameron Faussett: W, 2.0 IP, H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
Sax Matson: S, 1.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
Abbrie Covarrubias: 1-for-3, RBI, 2R, HR, BB, SB
Augie Lopez: 1-for-2, 2 RBI, R, HR, SF
Jack Basseer: 2-for-4, RBI, 2B, 3B

COMING UP
The Trojans host an exhibition against Waseda University from Japan on Wednesday. USC opens Big Ten play this weekend, with a three-game series against Illinois starting on Friday. All three games against Illinois will be broadcast live on B1G+.

Hear from @Jackbasseer after the Trojans picked up a come from behind victory on Tuesday night at Dedeaux ✌️#FightOn x @YETICoolers pic.twitter.com/8gj4uveJAT
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) March 4, 2026