USC swept in run-rule ending series finale

USC INF Dean Carpentier (6) catches a fly ball against the Vanderbilt Commodores on March 1st, 2025 at Great Park in Irvine, CA.

(Paige Creason - The Sporting Tribune)

The No. 12 USC Trojans fell to the Nebraska Cornhuskers 16-6 on Sunday to complete the three-game sweep.

The Trojans suffered another pummeling over the weekend, marking the second consecutive run-rule loss of the series, after their 12-2 loss on Saturday. 

USC's quick start saw plenty of potential for the team, having taken an early lead with an RBI single from Jack Basseer in the first inning. But, Nebraska's response of two runs from a triple and two RBI doubles off of USC starting pitcher Andrew Johnson showed that this matchup would be a marathon.

The Trojans initially kept up with the Cornhuskers' explosive offense with a Kevin Takeuchi three-run home run sent to right field in the second inning. Augie Lopez then knocked his own home run to right field to complete the back-to-back jacks and make the score 5-2.

Nebraska's Dylan Carey clubbed his twelfth home run of the season in the bottom of the third to put the Big Red behind two runs. But the turning point for the Cornhuskers was the introduction of RHP Ty Horn in the third inning. Horn pitched five innings and gave up one run, halting USC's offense and cleared the path for Nebraska to claim the lead. 

Mac Moyer, the Big Ten's leader in hits and batting average, barreled a three-run homer to left field to put Nebraska up 6-5 in the fourth inning. A USC pitching change brought Gavin Lauridsen in for Johnson. Lauridsen then gave up a wild pitch that scored Nebraska's Case Sanderson and gave them a 7-5 lead.

USC's Augie Lopez cut Nebraska's lead back down to one with a solo home run to center field in the fifth, his second of the afternoon. But defensive challenges continued to haunt the Trojans the remainder of the game.

After allowing two base runners in the fifth, Sax Matson replaced Lauridsen on the mound. With runners on second and third, Matson's 2-1 fastball to Jeter Worthley soared past catcher Richard Tejada to the backstop. Tejada, attempting to recover the ball and return it to Matson covering home plate, threw the ball out of reach, allowing two Nebraska runs to score from the wild pitch.