By R.L. Bynum
For the second consecutive season, a team from the west will head to the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
No. 2 regional seed Southern Cal won the College Station Regional on Monday night with a 7–1 victory over No. 1 regional seed and No. 11-ranked Texas A&M to earn a trip to Chapel Hill to face No. 5 overall seed North Carolina (48–11–1) beginning Friday.
It will be the first Super Regional since 2002 for the Trojans, who were ranked as high as No. 12 this season but finished the regular season unranked.
Carolina is one of only three No. 1 regional seeds on the left side of the bracket (see bracket below the story) to advance to the Super Regionals, along with No. 5 Auburn (42–20) and No. 9 West Virginia (43–15). Six No. 1 regional seeds made Super Regionals on the right side of the bracket.
The opener of the best-of-three series at Boshamer Stadium will be at 3 p.m. Friday (ESPN2) with Game 2 at 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN). The time and TV for Game 3, if needed, isn’t set. Last season, Arizona came to Chapel Hill and lost the opener of the Supers 18–2, but won the next two games 10–8 and 4–3 to advance.
The Trojans (46–16) boast two of the top starting pitchers in the country in junior left-hander Mason Edwards (8–0, 1.73 ERA; top photo) and sophomore right-hander Grant Govel (10–2, 2.93).
Southern Cal has the fourth-best ERA in the country at 3.52, and UNC is seventh at 3.85.
USC emerged from the losers bracket after dropping its regional opener Friday to Texas State 5–4, advancing with four consecutive victories. USC blew by Lamar 19–6 on Saturday before beating Texas State 15–4 Sunday afternoon and forcing Monday’s deciding game with a 14–3 victory Sunday night over Texas A&M.
Monday night, USC pulled away in what had been a one-run game when designated hitter Augie Lopez (who went 2-for-4) hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning.
USC has a rich tradition with 21 College World Series appearances and an NCAA-high 12 national championships. But the Trojans, making their 40th NCAA tournament appearance, haven’t won an NCAA title since 1998 and haven’t been to the CWS since 2001. USC has beaten UNC twice in NCAA tournament play, both in the College World Series: 6-2 in 1966 and 3-2 in 1978.
Eleven of the titles came under Coach Rod Dedeaux, including five in a row from 1970 to 1974. USC is in its fourth season under Coach Andy Stankiewicz, who previously spent 11 seasons at Grand Canyon.
USC finished fourth in the Big Ten at 20–10, earning its first 40-win season since 2005, the most regular-season wins since 2001 and back-to-back NCAA berths for the first time since 2001–02.
The Trojans set program records with a 32–1 home record, nine series sweeps and a 19–0 start. They were the nation’s last undefeated team before losing 14–4 to Oregon State on March 24. USC had a nation-high 10 shutouts.
Southern Cal struggled on the road, though, going 11–13, with its only series losses all coming on the road against ranked NCAA tournament teams: No. 1 UCLA (April 3–5), No. 20 Nebraska (April 17–19) and No. 15 Oregon (May 14–16).
USC is built around pitching and an experienced offense that has multiple run producers. The Trojans are hitting .273 as a team with 80 home runs, 362 RBI, while opponents hit .210.
Edwards, the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and the 34th-highest prospect headed into the draft, is second in the country in ERA and leads the NCAA in strikeouts (164). He struck out 16 against Iowa (above video). He struggled in Saturday’s 19–6 win over Lamar, though, giving up five runs and five hits with four walks in 4⅓ innings.
Govel, USC’s No. 2 starter, has 92 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 84⅓ innings, with a 0.87 WHIP, which is fourth in the country. He started the regional opener that USC lost, giving up four hits and three runs with two walks and six strikeouts in 5⅔ innings. Govel also started Monday, throwing 64 pitches over four innings, giving up three hits, one run, two walks and striking out four.
Their top hitters are right fielder Jack Basseer (.349, 1.092 OPS, 14 doubles 10 homers, 41 RBI), first baseman Adrian Lopez (.302, 13 homers, 46 RBI), third baseman/outfielder Kevin Takeuchi (.311, 9 homers, 59 RBI, 14 steals), DH Augie Lopez (.275, 18 homers, 52 RBI) and catcher Isaac Cadena (.307, 8 homers, 35 RBI).
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Chapel Hill Super Regional
No. 4-ranked and No. 5-seed North Carolina (50–12–1) vs. Southern Cal (48–18)
Best-of-3 series
Boshamer Stadium
Game 1: USC 9, UNC 5
Game 2: UNC 4, USC 0
Game 3: UNC 4, USC 3; UNC wins series 2-1
UNC opens the College World Series on Friday or Saturday against No. 18 and unseeded Ole Miss (41–21), which swept No. 5 Auburn in the Auburn Super Regional, winning 6–4 on Friday and 5–3 on Saturday. The other two teams in the double-elimination four-team field on the left side of the bracket are Troy (38–30) and No. 16-seed West Virginia (45–15).
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 13–14 | Fri., Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 12–2 (7); W, 4–3 (11) | vs. Indiana | 3–0 |
| 17 | Tuesday | W, 10–0 (7) | vs. Richmond | 4–0 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 5–3 | vs. Longwood | 5–0 |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun | W, 10–0 (8); L, 10–3; T, 3–3 | vs. East Carolina | 6–1–1 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. N.C. A&T | 7–1–1 |
| 25 | Wednesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. VCU | 8–1–1 |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | W, 16–3 (7); W, 12–2 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 10–1–1 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 21–1 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 11–1–1 |
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 5–1 | vs. Elon | 12–1–1 |
| 6–7 | Fri., Sat | L, 13–3 (7); L, 9–2; W, 8–7 (12) | vs. Virginia | 13–3–1, 1–2 ACC |
| 10 | Tuesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. Bucknell | 14–3–1 |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 8–1; W, 6–2; W, 10–2 | at California | 17–3–1, 4–2 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 8–2 | vs. UNCG | 18–3–1 |
| 20–22 | Fri.–Sun. | W, 11–1 (8); L, 2–0; W, 7–6 | vs. Louisville | 20–4–1, 6–3 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 21–4–1 |
| 28, 29 | Sat., Sun | W, 6–5; W, 13–7; W, 15–10 | at Notre Dame | 24–4–1, 9–3 |
| 31 | Tuesday | W, 5–4 (14) | vs. Campbell | 25–4–1 |
| April | ||||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | L, 6–1; W, 5–2; W, 8–7 | vs. Boston College | 27–5–1, 11–4 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 8–4 | vs. Charlotte | 28–5–1 |
| 10–12 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 6–4 (14); W, 12–5 | at Clemson | 30–6–1, 13–5 |
| 14 | Tuesday | W, 14–5 | vs. UNCW | 31–6–1 |
| 17–19 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–2; W, 14–4 (8); L, 5–2 | vs. No. 2 Georgia Tech | 33–7–1, 15–6 |
| 21 | Tuesday | W, 9–2 | vs. High Point | 34–7–1 |
| 23–25 | Thur.–Sat. | W, 3–1; L, 3–1; W, 22–5 (7) | at Duke | 36–8–1, 17–7 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 12–2 | vs. Coastal Carolina | 36–9–1 |
| May | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 13–0 (7) (non-conference game) | vs. Duke | 37–9–1 |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 4–1; W, 12–2 (8); W, 7–3 | vs. Pittsburgh | 40–9–1, 20–7 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 13–7 | at UNCW | 41–9–1 |
| 14–16 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 17–7 (8); L, 7–2 | at N.C. State | 43–10–1, 22–8 |
| ACC tournament | Charlotte | |||
| 22 | Friday | W, 10–4 | Quarterfinal vs. Virginia Tech | 44–10–1 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 13–5 | Semifinal vs. Pittsburgh | 45–10–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 13–6 | Championship vs. No. 2 Ga. Tech | 45–11–1 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 8–0 | VCU | 46–11–1 |
| 30–31 | Sat.–Sun. | W, 7–5; W, 9–3 | East Carolina | 48–11–1 |
| June | ||||
| Chapel Hill Super Regionals | ||||
| 5–7 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 4–0; W, 4–3 | Southern Cal | 50–12–1 |
| College World Series | Omaha, Neb. | |||
| 12 | Friday | W, 6–2 | No. 18 Ole Miss | 51–12–1 |
| 14, 17 | Sun., Wed. | W, 5–2; W, 12–7 | No. 9 West Virginia | 53–12–1 |
| 20–22 | Sat.-Mon. | L, 9–3; W, 6–2; L, 13–2 | CWS Finals vs. Oklahoma | 54–14–1 |
Photo via usctrojans.com
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