USC Baseball Falls to UConn
Before departing to Honolulu for a four-game set, the Trojans matched up with the Connecticut Huskies in a non-conference tilt at Dedeaux Field.
USC built an early 2-0 behind RBIs from Mike O’Neill and Ricky Oropesa. On the mound, Chad Smith got back on track after rocky outings earlier in the year with a solid start. He recorded four strikeouts through his first three innings of work. After struggling in the fifth, he was replaced and totaled 4 2/3 quality innings and while surrendering three unearned runs.
The Huskies used three runs in the fifth inning and one in the 6th to build a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Matt Hart legged out a double to begin the inning. Cade Kreuter’s flyout to right allowed Hart to move to third, and he scored on Kevin Roundtree’s sacrifice fly.
With both teams tied heading into the ninth, Pierre LePage led off he final frame for Connecticut with single to center field. Later in the inning, Mike Olt doubled to drive in LePage. Down 5-4 in the ninth, USC’s comeback bid fell short as Matt Foat struck out to end the game with Mike O’Neill on second base. The Trojans fell to 6-7 on the season.
W: Oberg (1-0) L: Garcia (0-1) S: Vance (1)
Alejandro Madrid is a broadcaster for USC’s student-run radio station, KSCR.org.
