USC Baseball: Where the Trojans Rank in the Pac-12 Statbook

The USC baseball team has finished their home slate with a final tally of 11-17 on the campaign, with four games left on the road schedule following their series sweep to UCLA this past weekend.

For the ninth straight year, the Trojans will not qualify for a regional, which means the boys in cardinal and gold will go home packing for the summer after their final tilt against Arizona this upcoming weekend.

The Trojans have four games left on the season, but let’s discuss the best and worst performances on both sides of the ball. This is a ballclub that is vastly different between their bats and their arms, something that has led to a mixed bag of success on the year.

Some members of the squad have reached the top rankings in the Pac-12 with their individual performances throughout the season.

Senior Adam Landecker is fourth in the conference with a .379 batting average, for players with at least 100 at bats on the year.

Sophomore starter Wyatt Strahan has the 10th-best ERA in the conference at 2.60, as part of his tremendous season switching from reliever to Saturday starter.

And in quite the feat, the Trojans have logged three complete-game victories this season, with Nigel Nootbaar most recently notching history with his shutout win over Washington State on May 12th.

Offensively, the Trojans are third in the conference in doubles with 88, and fifth overall in batting average, thanks to the efforts from five of their starters hitting over .300 on the season. Landecker, Greg Zebrack, James Roberts, Kevin Swick and Blake Lacey have helped the Trojans get to a .281 mark for the year.

Defensively, the Trojans can certainly be thankful for their catcher Garrett Stubbs, who has thrown out 52-percent of would-be stolen basemen. This has been the major bright spot in the field, besides the emergence of Timmy Robinson in center and Blake Lacey at shortstop for the fledgling Trojan defense.

James Roberts has struggled at third this season, his 14 errors being a team-high, but has also shown flashes of brilliance with his rocket arm. The outfield has been rather solid, with Bobby Stahel, Robinson and Zebrack manning the posts for the majority of the year.

The pitching staff as a whole has been a completely different story as their total ERA ranks second worst in the conference, at 4.60. This is largely in part due to the inconsistency of their bullpen, as Brooks Kriske leads the way registering the lowest earned-run average of all the USC relievers at a meager 4.05.

The most concerning stat however is the number of free passes the Trojans rotation is dishing out, nearly doubling their opponents –229 to 124– on the year.

Another interesting stat is the fact that the Trojans have allowed the most sacrifice hits in Pac-12 play, 61, fueling opposing offenses small ball approach to drive in runs.

All this being said, here are some the major team stats for the USC Men’s Baseball squad in Pac-12 play:

Hitting Stats:Average: .281, (4th)Slugging Percentage: .357, (6th)Runs Scored: 121, (8th)Hits: 255, (5th)Doubles: 43, (3rd)Walks Drawn: (9th)HBP: 32, (2nd)

Pitching Stats:Earned Run Average: 4.59, (8th)Opposing Batting Average: .303, (9th)Strikeouts: 131, (Last)Walks: 112, (10th)

Fielding Stats: Fielding Percentage .980, (7th)Errors: 32, (6th)Double Plays Turned: 26, (4th)Stolen Bases Against: 18, (4th Best)Caught Stealing: 18, (1st)

Individual Batting Leaders For Trojan Starters In Pac-12 Play1. Landecker, Adam .3792. Roberts, James .3513. Zebrack, Greg .3334. Swick, Kevin .2885. Stahel, Bobby .2866. Lacey, Blake .2717. Robinson, Timmy .2598. Stubbs, Garrett .222

Full stats available here on the USC Website and Pac-12 site.