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USC continued its hot start to the season (4-0), taking advantage of sloppy defense from No. 3 Cal State Fullerton (2-2), en route to an impressive 6-1 non-conference victory.
USC baseball rocks again beating a very good Fullerton team. Congrats to Coach Hubbs, staff and team. Awesome start!
— Pat Haden (@ADHadenUSC) February 19, 2014
Fresh off a weekend sweep over Northwestern, the Trojans jumped out to a 1-0 lead following a wild pitch from freshman starter Chad Hockin. The Trojans never looked back scoring two unearned runs in the third inning fueling the Trojans' first ranked win against a top-five opponent since defeating No. 2 Oregon State back in 2011.
Starting pitcher Brent Wheatley, brother of senior left hander Bob Wheatley, worked well through four innings keeping the Fullerton Titans off balance. The Trojans' bullpen came to play in the final five innings, continuing an impressive streak allowing only two earned runs in 23.1 IP this season.
USC benefited from a balanced offensive attack, which boasts multiple players hitting over .400 this season including junior Garrett Stubbs (.444), sophomore A.J. Ramirez (.455) and senior Jake Hernandez (.462). The Trojans have also capitalized in clutch situations, dropping down 10 sacrifice hits through four games.
After defeating three ranked opponents last season, the Trojans took an impressive step this week in garnering some confidence around a program looking for its first winning season since 2005. USC will now host North Dakota State for a three-game set at Dedeaux Field starting Friday night at 6 p.m., or on the web at usctrojans.com
Check out the Pac-12 Network highlights from Tuesday night's upset victory featuring a long solo home run by Vahn Bozoian, who finished with three hits, and great pitching along the way.