LOS ANGELES, CA – The No. 13-ranked USC Trojans wasted no time putting away the Washington Huskies on Saturday night at Dedeaux Field, exploding for seven runs in the first two innings en route to a 7-2 victory. The win clinched the series for USC and improved the Trojans to a scorching 23-1 overall (7-1 Big Ten), while dropping Washington to 9-13 (4-4 Big Ten).
Grant Govel (6-0) was dominant on the mound, tossing six innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts and just one walk. The Trojan bullpen then slammed the door shut, with Sax Matson and Diego Velazquez combining for three perfect innings of relief to seal the deal.
The Trojans jumped all over Washington starter Jackson Thomas (1-1) right from the jump. In the first inning, Adrian Lopez singled and Maximo Martinez reached on an error that allowed a run to score. Kevin Takeuchi followed with a sacrifice fly, and Augie Lopez capped the frame with a solo home run to right field, making it 3-0 USC before the Huskies even recorded an out.
Washington got one back in the second on Colton Bower’s solo homer, but USC answered with a four-run outburst in the bottom half. Isaac Cadena ripped a double that drove in a run and set up chaos on the bases — two Washington errors allowed Andrew Lamb and Maddox Riske to score. Abbrie Covarrubias added an RBI groundout, and Takeuchi delivered again with an RBI double down the left-field line that scored Martinez. Just like that, it was 7-1.
The Huskies scratched across one final run in the sixth on an RBI single from Sam DeCarlo, but that was all they could muster against USC’s pitching staff. The Trojans finished with 12 hits, led by two-hit nights from Martinez, Adrian Lopez, and Cadena, while Takeuchi drove in a pair.
With the series now firmly in hand, the #13 Trojans will look to complete the sweep of the Huskies on Sunday afternoon at Dedeaux Field. Another victory would push USC’s remarkable 2026 start even further into the record books.
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