USC lets one slip away at Washington in 5-3 opening series loss

At one point, USC was the hottest team in all of college baseball. They have since dropped another as they lost to Washington in a 5-3 defeat at Husky Ballpark.

Needing to at least secure one win to finish top four, heading into the Big Ten tournament in Omaha, Nebraska, this is one that coach Andy Stankiewicz's ball club will look back on, feeling that they should have left the field Friday night with the victory.

The Trojans had nine hits on the day. They outdid the Huskies in that department, who only managed five. It was USC's inability to bring runners in scoring position home, as the visitors stranded 10 runners in the first of a three-game series.

The middle fifth and sixth innings proved to be too much for the Trojans, as they saw their lead evaporate. Even in a favorable position, the needed, timely hits just did not come for USC when they needed them most.

In a sense, the bottom of the seventh proved to be something of a perfect example of this aspect. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek and Adrian Lopez managed to advance to second and third on a SAC bunt by Andrew Lamb. With only one out, however, USC just couldn't find that extra needed hit to at least tie the game up and force extra innings.

Kade Higgins is another Trojan who started off the top of the sixth with a triple. The resulting batters just couldn't find the right contact to allow him to score, and USC went scoreless over the final six innings.

Not quite enough for USC on the day

Andrew Johnson made his first start as a pitcher in Big Ten play. The freshman went five innings and threw five strikeouts, only allowing two runs. Caden Hunter gave up the three-run homer but did well after that to limit the damage and finish out the game. The southpaw finished with seven Ks in his three-inning outing.

Augie Lopez, Abbrie Covarrubias, and Higgins each grabbed an RBI early on to give the Trojans the lead at one point. It was a game that nearly went USC's way, but the plays and breaks went in favor of Washington in this one.

The Trojans will look to bounce back on Saturday and Sunday, showing that they are a top team to contend with in the BIG tourney and making a continued case for their further involvement beyond.