Clock strikes midnight on USC's run in Pac-12 Baseball Tournament

At the end of the 2024 USC baseball season, the clock struck 12 on the University of Southern California Trojans’ Cinderella run. This riveting journey ended with a 4-3 loss to the University of Arizona Wildcats on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in the Pac-12 Tournament final on Saturday night in Scottsdale.

The Wildcats had the Trojans’ number this year, winning the regular-season series 3-2 and scoring wins over the Trojans in early March. However, on Saturday night in Scottsdale, junior right-handed pitcher Caden Aoki threw six and one-third innings of no-hit baseball, giving the Trojans a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning. Aoki was coming off a rough outing in the Trojans’ first game of the Pac-12 Tournament against the Utah Utes, where he gave up four runs in six innings. The Trojans rallied late to come back against the Utes, cooked the Ducks, and beat the Cal-Berkeley Bears. Their victories culminated in an epic showdown that served as a fitting conclusion to the Pac-12 baseball season. USC’s red hot bat, freshman Braden Dowd, continued to impress, going 2-4 with a double and an RBI against Arizona. Dowd fueled USC’s offense in the tournament, going 6-15 with 8 RBI, two doubles and a home run.

Unfortunately the Trojan bullpen, which had been a huge part of USC’s success down the stretch, ran out of gas. After finally getting to Aoki in the seventh, the Wildcats were able to get a run back against setup man Xavier Martinez. The Cats rallied to score three more on Martinez and closer Josh Blum, who was forced to enter the game in the eighth. Arizona tied the game in the eighth with two runs. USC had a chance to retake the lead, but it just didn’t happen.

The Trojans went down in order in the top of the ninth in a 3-3 tie. Maddox Mihalakis of Arizona grounded out to first to start the bottom of the ninth for the Wildcats. Blake McDonald singled to left. Emilio Corona was brought in to pinch run for McDonald and stole second. In an attempt to set up a double play, Blum intentionally walked Andrew Cain to bring Tommy Splaine to the plate. Splaine, who had already struck out twice in the game, delivered a walk-off single to left field, scoring Corona and securing the win for Arizona.

This outcome proved to be gut-wrenching for both head coach Andy Stankiewicz and the Trojans, but the team was playing its best baseball at the end of the year, which is a great sign for the future. While it was a tough way to conclude a great run and the season, it’s evident that the Trojans have much to anticipate in 2025, both on the mound and at the plate.

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