USC Baseball: Trojans vs. Stanford Cardinal Series Recap

Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

With a 1-4 record on the road this season, the USC Trojans began a three game set at Stanford on Friday. Along with their road woes, the Trojans entered the series with the Cardinal on three-game losing streak.

The Trojans managed to pull out a come-from-behind win on Friday and won in extra innings on Sunday to improve to 12-10 on the season and 3-3 in Pac-12 play.

Game 1: USC 4, Stanford 3

AJ Ramirez gave the Trojans an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Cardinal answered with one run in the first through third innings to hold a 3-1 lead for much of the game.

Harkening back to the late-game magic that encompassed their early success this season, the Trojans scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 4-3 lead.

After a Kevin Swick ground out that drove in a run, Ramirez hit a two-out single to tie the game. Ramirez then advanced to second base on a wild pitch, which was followed by a Dante Flores RBI single to give the Trojans the lead.

Kyle Davis took the mound in the ninth inning looking to shut the door on the Cardinal.

The Cardinal had the tying and go-ahead runners on base with just one out, but were unable to capitalize and lost the first game of the series.

Game 2: Stanford 6, USC 2

The Cardinal got to Trojan starter Bob Wheatley early and were on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the second.

Wheatley walked five batters in 3.1 innings pitched and allowed four runs, two of which were earned. The Cardinal held a 4-0 lead going into the seventh inning, when the Trojans got a small rally going.

Behind singles from Flores, Bobby Stahel and Blake Lacey, the Trojans managed to get one run across. Cardinal pitcher Cal Quantrill gave way to A.J. Vanegas who put an end to the top half of the inning.

The Trojans scored another run in the eighth to cut their deficit to 4-2, but gave up two runs to the Cardinal in the bottom half.

Vanegas then retired the Trojans in the ninth inning without any issue.

Game 3: 

The rubber match of the series began like the second game, with the Cardinal jumping out to an early lead.

With the Trojans trailing 2-0 after one, Kyle Twomey was summoned out of the bullpen and charged with the task of limiting the Cardinal offense.

Twomey would hold the Cardinal to one run in second inning, including getting out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth inning.

That allowed for Vahn Bozoian to get the Trojans within two runs with a solo home run in sixth. A pair of sacrifice flies from Jeremy Martinez and Timmy Robinson then tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth.

The game would head to extra innings when the Trojans took the lead for good.

Jake Hernandez led off the tenth with a double and later scored on a double from Martinez. With runners on second and third, Robinson drove in another on a squeeze play.

Swick would tack on a third run in the inning with a single to give the Trojans a 6-3 lead headed into the bottom of the tenth.

The Cardinal would get two runners on with no outs, but Kyle Davis eventually ended the threat with a double play.