courtesy usctrojans.com
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The USC Trojans have won back-to-back games in walk-off fashion, freshman Adalberto Carrillo smacked a pinch-hit, walk-off, solo homer as the Trojans downed the No. 3 Vanderbilt Commodores 6-5 in Saturdays’ early game at the Dodgertown Classic at Dedeaux Field. The win improves the Trojans to 14-1 on the season and 2-0 in the classic while the Commodores fall to 11-3 with the loss.
In the first inning, junior shortstop Dansby Swanson drove a two-out single to the gap in left, stole second and third, then scored on a single through the middle by Zander Wiel (RJr., 1B) to snag an early 1-0 lead. But as would be the case throughout, neither squad held an advantage for long as the Trojans responded immediately.
Junior center fielder Bobby Stahel led off the home half of the inning with a double and was able to extend himself to third base on an error by Dores’ freshman center fielder Jeren Kendall. Stahel would later score on a sac fly off the bat of Jeremy Martinez (So., 1B) to tie the game at 1-1.
USC would get to Vandy starter John Kilichowski (So., LHP) again in the third with a sac fly by Stahel and a well-dropped squeeze by Garrett Stubbs (Sr., C) to give the Trojans a 3-1 lead.
Vanderbilt would break through again facing Trojans’ starter Kyle Twomey (Jr., LHP) with an RBI single by Jason Delay (So., C) to cut the lead to a run before a Dante Flores (Sr., 2B) hit a solo homer, his second on the year, to push the lead back to two runs.
In the fifth, Will Toffey (Fr., 3B) drove in a Wiel with a single back up the box and then later scored on a single by junior second baseman Tyler Campell to tie the game for the Commodores at 4-4. However, Stubbs would strike again with an RBI single in the home half of the frame to recapture the Trojans’ lead at 5-4.
The score knocked Kilichowski from the game having allowed five runs, three earned on five hits and a walk over 4.1 innings of work.
The game would belong, for the next few innings, to a pair of freshman right-handers who kept their opponents off the board until the eight. Vandy’s Kyle Wright and USC’s Mason Perryman battled out a scoreless duel until Perryman surrendered the game-tying run in the top of the eighth.
After walking Kendall to lead off the frame, Perryman gave up a one-out single to Commodores’ sophomore left fielder Bryan Reynolds to tie the game at 5-5.
Sophomore southpaw Ben Bowden was on the bump in the ninth and surrendered the walk-off homer on a 3-1 count with two outs.
Vanderbilt will face the No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs and USC will battle in-state, Pac 12 foe, the No. 6 UCLA Bruins to close out the Classic.
