MINNEAPOLIS — The USC Baseball team steamrolled the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a 16-6 road victory, posting season highs in both runs scored and hits with 17.
After a fourth straight victory, USC now holds a 27-14 overall record and is in fourth place in the Big Ten standings with a 12-7 record in conference play.
The Trojans quickly found themselves down 5-1 after two innings on Friday, but they rallied back with a four-run third inning and later took complete control, scoring at least one run in every inning except the eighth for the rest of the game.
Adrian Lopez continues to rake for the Trojans, collecting three hits — including a two-run home run — and driving in five runs in the victory. He has been scorching hot at the plate lately, totaling three home runs in the past four games, as well as 17 hits in his past eight games.
Adrian Lopez stays hot! 🔥
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) April 26, 2025
After 3️⃣hits and 5️⃣RBI on Friday, he now has 1️⃣7️⃣hits and 1️⃣4️⃣RBI in his last 8️⃣ games.#FightOn x @alopez1100 pic.twitter.com/ABPCuRqjvm
USC catcher Richard Tejeda also matched Lopez with a two-run homer and five RBI of his own. The pair simply had a dominant night offensively, with both feasting on Minnesota pitching.
A career day at the plate, including his first homer as a Trojan, earns @richardtejeda16 the @YETICoolers Helmet of the Game 👷♂️🧱✌️#FightOn x #Brick_By_Brick pic.twitter.com/uoeua6Y7vn
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) April 26, 2025
Despite the lopsided score, it wasn’t a complete, all-around dominant win for the Trojans.
On the pitching side of things, left-hander Caden Hunter had yet another rough outing following his shaky start at home against Gonzaga last Thursday. The southpaw gave up six earned runs in two and two-thirds innings to the Golden Gophers. In addition to that, he also gave up three home runs after only giving up five total on the season. This start also marked the first time this season that Hunter didn’t make it into the third inning.
However, the bullpen once again came through for USC.
Right-hander Andrew Johnson, who last pitched two scoreless innings in relief on Tuesday against Long Beach, threw the final six innings of the game for USC on Friday. On top of giving up zero runs in those six innings, Johnson only gave up two hits, struck out four, and issued no walks.
Drew Johnson was DEALING tonight! 😤
— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) April 26, 2025
6️⃣.1️⃣IP, 2️⃣H, 0️⃣R, 0️⃣BB, 4️⃣K’s#FightOn x @AndrewVJohnson pic.twitter.com/WUwUIZoNo4
Despite the impressive effort from the offense and bullpen, USC will need to get its ace Caden Hunter going as it enters the home stretch of the season. It was only a week and a half ago that Hunter’s ERA sat at 3.33, firmly near the top of the Big Ten ERA leaderboard. Now that ERA has ballooned up to 4.50. It has been a dominant year for Hunter, but he will need to right the ship soon if USC has any aspirations to make a deep playoff run.
The Trojans continue their three-game series against Minnesota this weekend as they look to win their seventh straight series.
Caden Aoki, coming off a nine-strikeout game against Gonzaga, is set to start for the Trojans Saturday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. PT.