USC series win over #14 UCLA, only an upset for those not paying attention

Following Friday's USC loss to UCLA, it may have looked like the beginning of the end for any potential Omaha hopes. On that day, the game didn't go the Trojans' way, as they lost to their ranked rival. To their credit, coach Andrew Stankiewicz's ball club responded and strung two impressive performances together to get the win and further bolster their resume.

An 11-5 win by USC on Sunday now has them sitting at 32-15 with a ton of momentum heading into the close of Big Ten play. In many ways, the late weekend effort encapsulated the type of season the fans have witnessed so far.

Down 3-0 during the first inning, freshman Andrew Johnson stepped in for Mason Edwards. The right-hander would pitch through part of the seventh inning. While at the mound, he threw 78 pitches, had five strikeouts, and had zero earned runs against him. This fittingly earned Johnson the Helmet of the Game recognition. Grant Govel closed out the game and threw 47 pitches to see the final outs through for the Trojan side.

While Friday saw a number of stranded base runners, Sunday picked up where the Saturday efforts left off. Andrew Lamb got things going with a two-run homer at the bottom of the fourth. Jack Basseer immediately followed that up with a solo HR.

Lamb then hit an RBI double in the fifth that allowed Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek to come home and take the lead. Soon after, Augie Lopez had a three-run RBI single to create a little bit of daylight between the hosts and the traveling Bruins. The next inning, Lopez duplicated another scoring at-bat. This time with a two-run RBI double, USC had a comfortable 9-3 lead.

Sealed USC series win and next matchup ahead

While UCLA got two scores back, Lopez hit a solo home run to create more of a cushion. Ethan Hedges tacked on one more homer for the Trojans, and Govel guided the home team through the ninth to get the needed three outs to seal the series win.

This is one of the hottest teams in all of college baseball at the moment. Signs of this series win were especially evident during Friday's loss. At a minimum, USC needs to be ranked following this impressive couple of victories over UCLA. The Trojans will now face UC Santa Barbara for a one-off matchup on the Gauchos' home field on Tuesday.