OMAHA, Neb. – In a city that was once a center of vice and gambling, the Michigan State Spartans played with house money until there were no chips left on the baize.
Unable to muster any offense, the 12th-seeded Spartans fell behind USC in the bottom of the first and were held to just six hits and four as the Trojans breezed to a 7-0 win, scoring all seven runs with two outs, in the first of four semifinals scheduled to be played at Charles Schwab Field on Friday. The win makes USC, which was No. 8 in the RPI on Friday morning, 43-14 on the year, and puts them closer to being seeded high enough in the NCAA Tournament to host a Super Regional should they advance that far.
In the bottom of the first, Augie Lopez drew a two-out walk, then scored on Kevin Takeuchi’s double off the wall in right center to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead. Isaac Cadena followed with a triple, scoring Takeuchi for a 2-0 lead.
“One of the things Coach [Stankiewicz] always preaches is ‘two outs, nobody on, it’s not a death sentence,'” said Takeuchi, who went 2-for-4, scored twice and drove in two runs, after the game. “So we got to be able to have that mentality of, if we get two outs early, we’re able to come back and compete and still scratch runs. And we were able to do that a few times. So that’s one of the just the big mentality that we’ve been able to have.”
In the third, Adrian Lopez hit a one-out double, and then with two outs, Takeuchi and Cadena drew walks to load the bases for Jack Basseer, who singled to score Lopez and Takeuchi to make it 4-0.
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On the mound, Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Mason Edwards got the start for the Trojans and threw four scoreless innings, striking out six and walking two with a wild pitch. He exited the game after the top of the fourth when a downpour necessitated an hour and 42 minute rain delay.
“I feel like, you know, fastball command is usually a big one when I have success… whether I can locate it or not get ahead early in counts,” said Edwards, who is ranked the No. 36 prospect for the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft by MLB Pipeline, following the game. He leads the nation with 160 strikeouts, 35 more than Eric Nachtsheim of McNeese State, who is second. “I had the curveball today and being able to locate that is a big one. So I think, you know, just overall command is kind of the biggest part.”
When play resumed, the Trojans kept their foot on the gas, sending nine men to the plate in the fifth and getting three runs, with Dean Carpentier tripling home Besseer and leadoff man Abbrie Covarrubias doubling homer Carpentier and Walter Urbon to make it 7-0.