Hawkeyes Fall to No. 14 USC, 6–3

LOS ANGELES — The University of Iowa baseball team fell to No. 14 USC, 6–3, on Saturday afternoon at Dedeaux Field, dropping the series to the Trojans.

“Tough loss today,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Maddux Frese gave us a good start but ran into trouble in the fourth. The offense answered back with a couple runs in the fifth to make it 5-3 on a Gable Mitchell two-run homer, but we couldn’t get any closer. Tyler Guerin pitched well out of the pen and gave us a chance to comeback. Offensively, we didn’t execute when we needed to. There were chances for guys to clutch up with runners in scoring position but they didn’t come through. Unfortunately, that’s been the trend the last few weeks. We just need to keep working and find a way to break out.”

Junior Maddux Frese got the nod to open the game for the Hawkeyes, throwing four innings and allowing five runs (four earned). He struck out one and walked one. Sophomore Tyler Guerin was first out of the bullpen for Iowa, tossing 3 2/3 innings while allowing one run, walking four and striking out four. Junior Beau Leisure recorded the final out, inducing a flyout.

Senior Gable Mitchell led the Hawkeye offense, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Graduate student Matthew Delgado also drove in a run for Iowa.

Iowa opened the scoring in the top of the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Delgado before the Trojans evened the game in the bottom half of the frame.

USC broke things open in the bottom of the fourth with a three-home run inning to take a 5–1 lead.

Mitchell’s two-run home run in the top of the fifth cut into the Trojan advantage. USC added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to cap the scoring.

Up Next
Iowa and No. 14 USC conclude the series Sunday at Dedeaux Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. (CT).