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.
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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