GAME RECAP: Govel Fans Seven, #18 USC Reaches 40 Wins for First Time Since 2005 in 11-3 Series-Clinching Rout of Nevada

LOS ANGELES, CA – Grant Govel turned in exactly the kind of start the Trojans needed on a Friday night at Dedeaux Field, and the bats did the rest. The junior right-hander struck out seven in six innings, allowing just two earned runs, as No. 18 USC rolled past Nevada 11-3 to improve to 40-12 on the season. It’s the first time the program has hit the 40-win mark since 2005, and it came in front of a fired-up home crowd that smelled blood in the water after Thursday’s 8-0 shutout.

The Trojans jumped on Nevada starter Ryan Desch right away. Adrian Lopez reached, Isaac Cadena walked, and two sacrifice flies from Kevin Takeuchi and Andrew Lamb put USC up 2-0 before the Wolf Pack even recorded an out. Nevada answered in the second when leadoff man Kanta Yamaguchi took Govel deep to center and an RBI double from Metcho tied it at 2-2. But that was all the breathing room the visitors would get.

USC answered with three in the bottom of the second — Dean Carpentier launched a solo shot to left, Cadena ripped an RBI single, and Takeuchi added another sac fly — then tacked on two more in the third on back-to-back homers from Jack Basseer and Lamb. By the time the dust settled after three innings, it was 7-2 and the game had the feel of a done deal.

Govel (10-1) kept the Wolf Pack in check the rest of his outing, working around traffic with that sharp breaking ball and efficient fastball command. He scattered five hits, walked just one, and handed the ball to Gavin Lauridsen with a comfortable lead. Lauridsen worked the final three frames for his third save, allowing a solo homer to Waller in the seventh but nothing else.

The Trojans added four more in the sixth to turn it into a laugher. Carpentier walked, Lopez and William Urbon reached, Takeuchi singled home a run, and Basseer smoked a two-run double down the left-field line. When the dust cleared, USC had nine hits, eight walks, and plenty of traffic on the bases all night — the kind of patient, opportunistic offense that’s defined this team during its climb to 40 wins.

Basseer finished 2-for-4 with a homer, a double and three RBI. Takeuchi drove in three more with a pair of sac flies and a single. Lamb and Carpentier each went deep. Lopez scored three times out of the leadoff spot. On the flip side, Nevada (23-23) could only muster six hits and committed a pair of errors that hurt them early.

With the series now firmly in hand, the Trojans will go for the sweep Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. right back here at Dedeaux Field. A victory would send them into next weekend’s final regular-season series riding serious momentum — three games on the road in Eugene against the Oregon Ducks.