USC Baseball News: Rivalry Renewed in Dedeaux Field

Sports rivalries can be hostile and can get personal, but at the same time, they can be exciting. Fans trash talking to other fans. Players not liking one another. Historically, that’s been the case for USC and UCLA. Two schools from the same state are always on the collision course whenever they face off. The UCLA/USC rivalry mainly applies in College Football, but it’s also a factor in College Baseball. 

USC and UCLA will begin a three-game series on Friday, April 21st. It is a highly anticipated PAC-12 matchup. The last time these two teams met was back on March 5th. USC was trailing 5-1 in the Top of the 9th inning. Infielder Nate Clow hit a two-run home run to cut the deficit to two. The Trojans had the tying run on base, but the game ended on a sacrifice fly. It was an intriguing rally but wasn’t enough to force the game to extra innings. The Bruins hang on to win 5-3. UCLA mostly did their damage on offense in the second and sixth inning when they scored two runs in each inning and an RBI in the third inning. 

USC is looking to bounce back after getting swept by Oregon State this weekend. Oregon State held the Trojans under five runs in each game through the series. Before meeting against UCLA, they must take care of business against CSUN on Tuesday to snap their three-game losing streak. 

USC and UCLA have a similar season from a win and loss column. USC is 21-13-1 this season, impressive 16-4 at home, but not so good on the road with a 4-9-1 record. UCLA is 21-10-1, very good at home with a 17-3-1 record, and 4-7 on the road. Both teams played exceptionally well at home, but it gets complicated on the road. Why is that? Maybe USC and UCLA feed too much from the crowd and need their positive energy when they hit the field. 

Who will come out on top? In this situation, USC has the edge because they will be hosting the series on their home turf at Dedeaux Field. We hope this series will give us a show, a thrilling finish, and not a lopsided series. Rivalries are great as long as it stays healthy.