Baseball Takes Two of Three From Stanford

USC (12-10, 3-3) erased a late 3-1 deficit with a pair of runs in the eighth inning to send the game to extra innings and then scored three in the top of the 10th to take a 6-3 victory and a series win at Stanford's Sunken Diamond (8-10, 1-2) for the first time since 2007.

Great comeback to win a tough road series! Love that this team never gives up! This team defines Fight On!#uscbaseball #fighton

— Dan Hubbs (@DanHubbs40) March 24, 2014

The Trojans managed only five hits, but made them count. After being no-hit through the first five innings, Vahn Bozoian homered (3rd this season) in the sixth inning to cut an early Stanford lead to 3-1. USC got a leadoff double from Blake Lacey in the eighth inning and even the score with a pair of sacrifice flies.

Then in the final frame, USC got a leadoff double from Jake Hernandez and a double from Jeremy Martinez to put them ahead. After a squeeze bunt plated a run, Kevin Swick knocked an RBI single - the Trojans' first and only non-extra-base hit of the game.

Here's the go-ahead run scoring on Martinez's double:

Stanford brought the tying run to the plate in the 10th inning, but Kyle Davis (3 IP, 0 R) got a pair of groundouts to end the game and pick up the win. Jeff Paschke got the start over Kyle Twomey, USC's normal Sunday starter, but it was Twomey that shined. After entering in the second inning, he pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits.

ON SATURDAY...USC Lost 6-2

Senior southpaw Bob Wheatley had a short outing for his second straight start. He gave up four runs (two earned) three hits and walked five in 3.1 innings. Wheatley was bested by freshman Cal Quantrill, who allowed only one run in 6.1 innings. A.J. Vanegas pitched the final 2.2 innings to pick up his first save. Blake Lacey was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Brett Michael Doran drove in three runs for Stanford while Drew Jackson scored three times.

AND ON FRIDAY...USC Won 4-3 In Dramatic Fashion

For the second straight week, USC got eight innings from Wyatt Strahan and Kyle Davis came on in the ninth to close it out. Strahan allowed nine hits and three runs (two earned), but did not walk a batter and struck out five. But the story was the offense, which came through in the clutch with a three-run eighth inning to put USC on top.

AJ Ramirez finished 2-for-2 with a hit by pitch, stolen base and two RBI, including a game-tying RBI single that was followed by Dante Flores' go-ahead RBI single. Leadoff hitter Omar Cotto sparked the Trojans' offense with two hits and two runs. Starter Brett Hanewich was strong for Stanford, but did not factor in the decision: 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K.

Here is Flores'Â game-winning base hit delivered in the 8th inning, setting the tone for what would be a very dramatic three-game series between teams currently fighting around the .500 mark overall record.