Two outs. Two measly outs. That was all the most decorated program in the history of college baseball needed to get back to what once felt like its second home. At that point, everything was tiltin…
That was all the most decorated program in the history of college baseball needed to get back to what once felt like its second home.
At that point, everything was tilting heavily USC’s way in its bid to make its first College World Series appearance since 2001. USC’s Andrew Johnson delivers against North Carolina. The Trojans bowed out of the NCAA Tournament, losing in the Super Regional.
The Trojans held a one-run lead over North Carolina and the bases were empty in the ninth inning of the decisive game of their NCAA Tournament Super Regional, with the ball in the capable hand of closer Adam Troy. There was a walk on a full count. A pitching change on a 3-and-0 count. A single that put runners on the corners.
A run-scoring sacrifice fly to tie the score. A walk. The implosion was complete once Tar Heels center fielder Owen Hull crushed Chase Herrell’s final pitch for a two-out, run-scoring walk-off double just out of the reach of center fielder Kevin Takeuchi, completing USC’s crushing 4-3 loss on Sunday in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The bullpen meltdown wasted 7 ⅔ superb innings from USC starter Andrew Johnson, who held the Tar Heels to two hits and two runs only two days after he had pitched 3 ⅔ innings of scoreless relief in the opener of the series. USC also received an infusion of power from Takeuchi and Andrew Lamb, whose solo homers had given the Trojans a 3-1 lead.
After North Carolina tied the score in the third inning on Hull’s two-out, run-scoring double, the Trojans surged back into the lead on Takeuchi’s homer to left on a hanging slider in the fourth inning. Zachary Taft-Imagn Images An inning later, Lamb crushed another hanging slider over the right-field fence to extend USC’s advantage to 3-1.
Those swings were just what the Trojans needed against North Carolina starter Caden Glauber, the Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year who was otherwise dominant with 11 strikeouts in 7⅓ innings. But the early and middle innings were relegated to a footnote by the high drama of the ninth inning. USC, which has won a record 12 national titles, must wait at least one more year for a chance to notch No. 13.
It’s total devastation for a program that appeared bound for its first College World Series appearance in a quarter of a century. The tears freely flowed on the field asSax Matson, Troy and Herrell. There were some oddities in the final innings as Matson threw just one pitch, hitting a batter before Stankiewicz turned to Troy. Stankiewicz then replaced Troy on a 3-and-0 count in the ninth inning before Herrell gave up the tying and go-ahead runs.
Hull went 4-for-5 with four doubles and two RBIs, including the winning run on his ninth-inning double with two out. Struggling all series with runners in scoring position — including Sunday, when they went just 2 for 8 — the Tar Heels came through with the big hit thanks to the transfer from George Mason.
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