After suffering three straight losses, No. 7 ASU baseball (26-4, 9-3 Pac-12) came out with one win over bottom ranked USC (12-18, 5-7 Pac-12).
Sun Devils improve to 9-3 in the Pac-12, still sitting in second place behind Stanford.
Game 1
It was a tough Friday night at the plate for the Sun Devils' offense, and combined with pitching challenges, the team gave up a 10-6 loss to the Trojans.
Sun Devil sophomores Trevor Hauver walked and added three RBIs with one home run in the ninth for a 1-for-4 night and Spencer Torkelson struggled going 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
The bottom of the lineup was completely shut out, as sophomore Gage Workman and redshirt sophomore Sam Ferri went for a combined 0-for-6.
The Trojans struck first offensively leading 6-1 in the fourth.
Sun Devil starting right-hander Alec Marsh would have a tough outing through 5.1 innings allowing eight runs on 10 hits.
The junior would eventually surrender his his first loss of the season, raising his ERA to 2.19.
Game 2
Torkelson's seventh homer of the season would come in the third and sophomore Alika Williams' game-tying dinger in the sixth would not be enough in a 7-3 loss to the Trojans.
Williams would walk and hit an RBI going 2-for-2.
Sun Devil starting pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi would allow six runs on nine hits through 5.0 innings.
Trojans junior Matthew Acosta's home run in the sixth would eventually break the 3-3 tie. The team would post two more runs that inning. Acosta's second home run of the game came in the seventh securing a USC win.
Hauver would end the afternoon 0-for-5, while national home run leader junior Hunter Bishop went 2-for-5. Bishop hasn't hit a home run in the last four games.
Game 3
The Sun Devils' pitching staff was put to the test but would overcome the adversity in an 11-8 win over the Trojans.
Starting sophomore right-hander RJ Dabovich entered the Sunday matchup with a 5-0 record in seven appearances, but in the third arm soreness would strike him and force him out of the game.
Dabovich would last through 2.1 innings and allowed two runs on four hits.
With one out and the bases loaded, sophomore Brady Corrigan would go on to finish the inning and hold off the Trojans to one run in the fourth.
Similar to Dabovich, Corrigan would have a tough finish on the mound — through 4.1 innings he allowed five runs on six hits.
But the Sun Devils' offense made up for the defensive miscues by adding five runs in the fourth including Torkelson's three-run shot. Four runs in the fifth extended the lead to 11-3.
Still, the Trojans found a way to creep their way back in the game posting a pair of runs in the fifth, an RBI double from sophomore Jamal O'Guinn in the sixth and a home run from freshman Clay Owens in the seventh making it a tight 7-11 game.
The Trojans would continue to power through the Sun Devils' fifth pitching change loading the bases in the ninth.
Freshman left-hander Erik Tolman would walk a batter allowing the Trojans to score their eighth run.
With the bases loaded and two outs, a diving forward catch from junior Carter Aldrete would record the final out and secure the win for the Sun Devils.
ASU will continue on the road in a non-conference game with UNLV (19-15) on Tuesday, April 9 at 6:05 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at Edith.Noriega@asu.edu or follow @Noriega_Edith on Twitter.
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