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USC baseball sweeps Texas A&M, advances to Super Regional

Chris Trevino USC Trojans footballby: Chris Trevino06/02/26ChrisNTrevino

USC baseball completed a masterful College Station Regional comeback, capping off multiple elimination game wins with a 7-1 victory over No. 12 Texas A&M for the program’s first regional championship in 21 years.

Augie Lopez turned the night in the seventh with a three-run homer to push a one-run USC lead to 5-1. The sophomore Lopez finished the night with a team-high five RBIs. Lopez was named the MVP of the College Station Regional.

All-Big Ten pitcher Grant Govel came up big on two days rest allowing three hits and one run over four innings. He struck out four.

USC’s offense stayed hot in the eighth inning with two insurance runs. The first came on an RBI fielder’s choice from Adrian Lopez, Dean Carpentier beating a tag at home. Augie Lopez added his fifth and final RBI on a sac fly to left field.

The USC bullpen allowed just three hits and zero runs over the final five innings. Redshirt sophomore Chase Herrell powered the effort with 3.2 clean innings.

Govel retired the first seven batters of the night before Bear Harrison drew first blood with a solo shot in for a 1-0 lead in the third.

USC’s offense came to life in the fifth with the tying and go-ahead runs for a 2-1 lead. Carpentier opened the fifth with a leadoff single before advancing to second on a sac bunt. He was brought home by fellow junior Abbrie Covarrubias on the game-tying RBI single to quiet the home crowd.

Covarrubias stole second a batter later and was rewarded with a go-ahead run on Lopez’s first RBI hit, a single.

USC’s win streak over four elimination games yielded scorching hot bats with 55 runs. The defense and pitching allowed just 14 runs during that stretch.

Super Regional Bound

USC baseball has not touched a Super Regional since 2005, swept by then-conference rival Oregon State in Corvallis. The Trojans reached the Super Regional in 2002, also swept by rival Stanford, prior to 2005.

Monday marked the second time in program history USC won the regional after losing in the opening game. The first occurred in 1971, which ended with a national title.

It’s been a long journey back for the program, but it’s another step forward under head coach Andy Stankiewicz, who inherited a last-place team in 2022.

Four years later, USC can celebrate its first regional title in 21 years in their first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since 2001-02.

USC baseball advanced to the Corvallis Regional Final in 2025 but were swept in convincing fashion by host Oregon State.

The Trojans will now put their breakout season up against No. 5 North Carolina. The Tar Heels (48-11-1) went 3-0 in the Chapel Hill Regional.

The teams will square off on Friday in Chapel Hill.

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Garry Paskwietz (1966-2019)

Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

Garry Paskwietz