University Southern California Trojans
Friday, March 6
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 p.m. PT
USC
13-0, 1-0
4
vs
0
Illinois
7-5, 0-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Illinois
0
0
0
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0
0
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2
USC
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
X
4
6
2
Photo by: William Fosnot
No. 20 USC Baseball Posts Best Start Since 1988 With 4-0 Win Over Illinois
March 06, 2026 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 20 USC baseball team won its 13th game in a row to start the season, beating Illinois 4-0 to mark the program's best start since 1988.
Mason Edwards was once again dominant on the mound and the Trojan offense put up three runs in the first inning as USC moves to 13-0 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play. Illinois falls to 7-5, 0-1 with the loss. The 1988 Trojan squad set the program record for the best start in school history, going 15-0 to open the season. USC's 13-game winning streak tops the 2015 Trojans' 12-0 start to the year.
Edwards posted his fourth straight scoreless start to open the year, tossing 6.0 innings while allowing just two hits. The junior lefty struck out a career-high 11 batters for the third straight start as he now has a 0.00 ERA through 24.0 innings pitched. Edwards has 42 strikeouts to just 10 walks and three hits allowed.
The Trojan southpaw did have to work out of a jam in the fourth as Illinois loaded the bases with no outs. Edwards got a popup, strikeout and groundout to strand all three runners and keep USC in front, 3-0.
Adrian Lopez sparked the offense with a two-run homer in the first and then Maximo Martinez singled home Kevin Takeuchi to give the Trojans a 3-0 advantage. The pitching staffs battled it out from there, with USC finally tacking on an insurance run thanks to a sacrifice fly from Takeuchi in the eighth.
Gavin Lauridsen took over on the mound with a runner on and no outs in the seventh, proceeding to strand the runner at second and then set down the side in order in the eighth. Adam Troy finished the game off with a scoreless ninth, working around an error on the first batter to strand one.
As a team, the USC pitching staff now has a 1.54 ERA through 13 games and 117 total innings. In six appearances, Lauridsen has a 1.46 ERA and Troy, in seven appearances, has a 3.00 ERA, 5/1 strikeout to walk ratio and five saves.
TOP PERFORMERS
COMING UP
The Trojans and Fighting Illini continue their series on Saturday at 1 p.m. and then wrap things up on Sunday at 11 a.m. Both games against Illinois will be broadcast live on B1G+.
Mason Edwards was once again dominant on the mound and the Trojan offense put up three runs in the first inning as USC moves to 13-0 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play. Illinois falls to 7-5, 0-1 with the loss. The 1988 Trojan squad set the program record for the best start in school history, going 15-0 to open the season. USC's 13-game winning streak tops the 2015 Trojans' 12-0 start to the year.
Edwards posted his fourth straight scoreless start to open the year, tossing 6.0 innings while allowing just two hits. The junior lefty struck out a career-high 11 batters for the third straight start as he now has a 0.00 ERA through 24.0 innings pitched. Edwards has 42 strikeouts to just 10 walks and three hits allowed.
The Trojan southpaw did have to work out of a jam in the fourth as Illinois loaded the bases with no outs. Edwards got a popup, strikeout and groundout to strand all three runners and keep USC in front, 3-0.
Adrian Lopez sparked the offense with a two-run homer in the first and then Maximo Martinez singled home Kevin Takeuchi to give the Trojans a 3-0 advantage. The pitching staffs battled it out from there, with USC finally tacking on an insurance run thanks to a sacrifice fly from Takeuchi in the eighth.
Gavin Lauridsen took over on the mound with a runner on and no outs in the seventh, proceeding to strand the runner at second and then set down the side in order in the eighth. Adam Troy finished the game off with a scoreless ninth, working around an error on the first batter to strand one.
As a team, the USC pitching staff now has a 1.54 ERA through 13 games and 117 total innings. In six appearances, Lauridsen has a 1.46 ERA and Troy, in seven appearances, has a 3.00 ERA, 5/1 strikeout to walk ratio and five saves.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Mason Edwards: 6.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 11K
- Gavin Lauridsen: 2.0 IP, 0H, 0R, K
- Adrian Lopez: 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2R, 2-R HR, 2B
- Kevin Takeuchi: 1-for-2, RBI, R, 2B, SF, HBP
COMING UP
The Trojans and Fighting Illini continue their series on Saturday at 1 p.m. and then wrap things up on Sunday at 11 a.m. Both games against Illinois will be broadcast live on B1G+.
Hear from @GavinLauridsen after his 2.0 scoreless relief innings helped move the Trojans to 13-0 on the year ✌️#FightOn x @YETICoolers pic.twitter.com/ooHtrVOz2X
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) March 7, 2026
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Edwards, Mason (3-0)
L: PLUMLEY, Ben (1-2)
Base Running:
HBP: GROVES, Nick 1 ; JENNINGS, Collin 1
Batting:
2B: Lopez, Adrian 1 ; Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Martinez, Maximo 1
HR: Lopez, Adrian 1
RBI: Lopez, Adrian 2 ; Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Martinez, Maximo 1
SF: Takeuchi, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cadena, Isaac 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 2 ; Takeuchi, Kevin 1
HBP: Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Tejeda, Richard 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP/UTL
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
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