Augie Lopez powers USC baseball into super regionals for first time in 21 years …
USC soph Augie Lopez runs the bases after hitting a three-run dinger in the seventh inning to bust out USC against A&M in the College Station Regional. (Chris Mora / USC Athletics)
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Augie Lopez hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning to lift USC past #12 Texas A&M 7-1 in the College Station Regional final.
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Lopez also delivered a go-ahead single for the Trojans, who advanced to the NCAA super regionals for the first time since 2005.
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USC will play in the Chapel Hill Super Regional against #5 seed North Carolina.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz (LA Times) — COLLEGE STATION, Texas — As Augie Lopez trotted around the bases late Monday night, the small contingent of USC fans could finally be heard at Blue Bell Park. With one towering blast to right field, the Trojans’ designated hitter silenced Texas A&M’s rowdy 12th Man.
Lopez’s three-run home run helped push the Trojans over Texas A&M 7-1 to reach the NCAA super regional for the first time in 21 years.
Lopez silenced most of the sellout crowd of 7,042, making it easy to hear USC fans serenading him during the College Station Regional Final.
“Augie! Augie! Augie!” USC fans chanted after Lopez, who ended up with five RBIs, returned to the dugout. After the win, he was named the regional’s most outstanding player.
It took a while, but the offense showed up to propel USC (47-16) to the Chapel Hill Super Regional against North Carolina.
Until Lopez’s blast, Texas A&M right-hander Clayton Freshcorn had slowed down a USC offense that had scored 48 runs combined while winning three consecutive games out of the losers’ bracket, including 14 on Sunday night against Texas A&M (41-16), to force the winner-take-all final.
USC right-hander Grant Govel, who had thrown 89 pitches over 5⅔ innings on Friday, retired the first seven Aggies before Bear Harrison hit a solo home run to left-center field in the third.
The Aggies ran out a threat in the fourth. Chris Hacopian drew a leadoff walk. Ben Royo kept the inning alive with a two-out single to left. Jorian Wilson followed with a single to shallow right-center field. Second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias was positioned perfectly to field the ball in the outfield, but his throw to first wasn’t in time.
Fortunately for the Trojans, Adrian Lopez alertly threw home to easily nail Hacopian by several feet to end the inning.
Covarrubias tied the score 1-1 with an RBI single to left-center in the fifth. One out later, Covarrubias stole second. Augie Lopez broke the tie with a single to right-center.
Two innings later, Lopez crushed his three-run blast.
UNC (48-11-1) finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference behind Georgia Tech in the regular season and lost to the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Tournament final as well. The Tar Heels went 3-0 to win their four-team regional, beating VCU in their opener, 8-0, before beating East Carolina twice (7-5 and 9-3).
latimes.com
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Atlanta Falcons sign former USC WR Drake London (’19-21) to $141 mil extension, keeping him with the franchise through the 2030 season.
London’s deal includes $100 mil in guaranteed money and makes him the NFL’s 3rd highest-paid WR by average annual value.
Drake is the only reason I turn on any Falcons game.
If the last time the team was in the super regionals was 21 years ago, then my wife and I watched those games. The Trojan opponent was Georgia Tech. My GT alumna wife and I attended the Friday game which SC won. For the game on Saturday, I made it so I could drive separately to the game. Good thing, because SC won the second game to punch their ticket to Omaha. Ok maybe this story didn’t take place 21 years ago, but I know that it happened when SC faced GT in a Super Regional in Atlanta. Never get… Read more »
Just read Texas A@M got a commitment from a H.S linebacker that has size to man the mike position. He’s 6’ 5” 220. Here we are recruiting linebackers that are 6’1” and maybe 205. This is what I have had a concern with. You need a stopper with size patrolling the middle fighting off linemen & 230 lb backs in the BIG.
There’s a new Trojan on the cover, #1 pick Caleb Williams
I guess Duce Robinson has given up baseball. I don’t see him on the 2025 or 2026 roster
It’s hard to play two sports in college anymore….
Super Regional Schedule per On3.com Just nine of the 16 national seeds from Regional play will play in Super Regional matchups. The No. 1 (UCLA) and No. 2 (Georgia Tech) overall seeds were upset, marking the second consecutive season that the top two national seeds failed to reach Super Regional play. The other national seeds to lose in Regional play include No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Southern Miss, No. 10 Florida State, No. 12 Texas A&M, and No. 13 Nebraska. Of the 16 teams remaining, four are seeking their first ever Men’s College World Series appearance (Cal Poly, Little Rock, Troy,… Read more »
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Needs one more year for that 10-year NFL pension–I hear it’s pretty good when you can get to ten seasons.
USC pitching coach Sean Allen hired as new Lamar head coach Allen returns to Texas where he’s spent most of his coaching career. Shotgun Spratling (USCFootball.com) — The 46-year-old coach who led USC’s pitching to the top of the national charts this year got to face off against his future team and some of his future players Saturday when the Trojans eliminated Lamar with a 19-6 victory. Allen and the Trojans then swept through the rest of the College Station Regional to earn USC’s first trip to a super regional since 2005 while the victory over Lamar ended the… Read more »
Hate to see him go. Big shoes for Stanky to fill.
Seven of the top 16 seeds have been eliminated including #1 Ruins (😆) and #2 GeoTech. USC looks hot hitting and piching. If UofA Little Rock or Troy U can get to the CWS any of the 16 left can do it including the real Trojans!
Who knows. Maybe these trojans will be college baseballs version of college footballs Hoosiers
Maybe he hated living in SoCal–many people are coming to that conclusion.
Thank you Gavin Newsome and Karen Bass. You know what their motto is…..destroy your home state(or city) and then move to a red state when you retire…..ala Nancy Pelosi
The thanks go the the 60% of voters in California that keep voting for these corrupt socialists.
My advice to those 60% is once you finally make California unliveable, please stay in California. Don’t run to another state like Pelose plans on doing(Florida) so you can destroy that state too. You made your bed. Please choose to sleep in it.