USC baseball advances to super regionals for first time since 2005
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — As Augie Lopez trotted around the bases late Monday night, the small contingent of USC fans could finally be heard at Blue Bell Park. With one towering blast to right field, the Trojans’ designated hitter silenced Texas A&M’s rowdy 12th Man.
Lopez’s three-run home run helped push the Trojans over Texas A&M 7-1 to reach the NCAA super regional for the first time in 21 years.
Lopez silenced most of the sellout crowd of 7,042, making it easy to hear USC fans serenading him during the College Station Regional Final.
“Augie! Augie! Augie!” USC fans chanted after Lopez returned to the dugout. After the win, he was named the regional’s most outstanding player.
It took a while, but the offense showed up to propel USC (47-16) to the Chapel Hill Super Regional against North Carolina.
Until Lopez’s blast, Texas A&M right-hander Clayton Freshcorn had slowed down a USC offense that had scored 48 runs combined while winning three consecutive games out of the losers’ bracket, including 14 on Sunday night against Texas A&M (41-16), to force the winner-take-all final.
USC right-hander Grant Govel, who had thrown 89 pitches over 5⅔ innings on Friday, retired the first seven Aggies before Bear Harrison hit a solo home run to left-center field in the third.
The Aggies ran out a threat in the fourth. Chris Hacopian drew a leadoff walk. Ben Royo kept the inning alive with a two-out single to left. Jorian Wilson followed with a single to shallow right-center field. Second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias was positioned perfectly to field the ball in the outfield, but his throw to first wasn’t in time.
Fortunately for the Trojans, Adrian Lopez alertly threw home to easily nail Hacopian by several feet to end the inning.
Covarrubias tied the score 1-1 with an RBI single to left-center in the fifth. One out later, Covarrubias stole second. Augie Lopez broke the tie with a single to right-center.
Two innings later, Lopez crushed his three-run blast.