March 6, 2013

Final Stats

LOS ANGELES - The USC baseball team was unable to climb out of an early hole and dropped an 11-4 decision to No. 10 Cal State Fullerton Tuesday evening at Dedeaux Field.

In a game that featured 25 hits and 13 pitchers between the two teams, the Trojans (6-6) fell behind early, as starter Brent Wheatley (Villa Park, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) was chased in the second inning after being roughed up for seven runs (six earned) in an inning and a third.

The visiting Titans (11-2) tallied season highs in runs (11) and hits (15) against seven Trojan pitchers.

The Trojans countered with ten hits against six Fullerton pitchers, including three from junior third baseman Kevin Swick (La Canada, Calif./Loyola HS), two from senior outfielder Greg Zebrack (Northridge, Calif./UPenn) and two from freshman outfielder Timmy Robinson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View HS). Fullerton starter Koby Gauna scattered three hits and kept the Trojans off the board for the first five innings, but once the Trojans were into the Titans' pen in the sixth, the bats came to life a bit.

Robinson hit a one-out single and came around to score on Zebrack's triple to deep left center. Conner Sullivan (Orange, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) scored Zebrack with a groundout to put the score at 10-2 at the end of the sixth.

The Trojans tacked on two more in the seventh, as Blake Lacey (Clovis, Calif./Clovis HS) led off with a single up the middle, moved to second on a two-out single from Robinson. After Zebrack was hit by a pitch to load the bases, pinch hitter Bobby Stahel (Needles, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) plated Lacey and Robinson with a single to right, his first collegiate hit, but that was as close as the Trojans would get.