My coverage of baseball will be very limited tonight due to basketball, so I thought I could at least give yall a quick preview of USC and what to expect against them. As a general note, I had heard some say on twitter that the only true away game this weekend was UCLA but Vandy is playing at USC's home ballpark for the year tonight. The confusion is because the stadium on USC's campus is undergoing renovation and is not able to be used this year. The game will be played at Great Park Sports Complex, which is where USC is playing all of its home games this year. It is a true road game and should be counted as such.
This ballpark's dimensions are a little bit odd. There is a deep center field that is a true 400 feet, but it is just 325 feet down each line. For reference, the Hawk is 330 feet down the right field line and 400 feet to CF (LF is unique because it is only 310 but it has the Monster); Linsey Nelson is 320 feet down the lines and 390 to CF. So while it isn't a matchbox park, you could see some balls get out if you can tap in to some pull side power. It will be about 60 degrees and sunny, too, so no cold weather excuses for any lack of power.
For the actual team preview we'll start off with pitching, Caden Aoki gets the nod for USC tonight. The senior is very experienced and posted a very strong season last year with a 3.91 ERA. This year, however, has gotten off to an inconsistent start as he allowed 4 runs in 4 innings against George Washington but responded by only allowing 1 run over 5.2 versus Rice. Aoki has a solid fastball but his best pitch is a curveball that he can locate well. It's his go-to when he needs to put a batter away. Seeing it well and pounding it if he hangs it is the key to beating him. Aoki is also a righty so expect to see Mac Rose in the lineup at DH once again.
Not sure who we will see in relief but whoever it is will be solid. The USC bullpen has a sub-3 cumulative ERA so far this season. Given, they've only played 2 games against teams that I would qualify as semi-decent (they beat UC Irvine 5-3 and just beat UConn 8-5 last night) but the pen has held up well in those games, too.
Offensively USC has put up some solid numbers. They have scored 7+ runs in all but 3 games this season and are hitting for much more power than in the last few year. Last year they were one of the worst teams in the country in hitting for power (they only hit 35 all last year) but that has seemingly changed. They have already hit 11 homers and have 3 players with multiple (one already has 4). Moving on to more specific players and info, the top of USC's order is as good as any in the country and are led by Ethan Hedges and Kade Higgins. Hedges is hitting .406 and has a double, 2 triples, and 4 home runs in 32 ABs, Higgins isn't far behind him and is hitting .375 with a double and 3 home runs in 32 ABs. The trojans have 3 other players batting above .300, too. After this, though, the production really falls off. The bottom of the order is full of guys who are hitting between .160-.280 and have produced no power on the year. If the pitching can navigate the top of the order like it did yesterday, then Vandy will put itself in a very strong position.
Finally, this isn't a note about USC but a relevant thought to the game. I expect McElvain to have an extremely short leash tonight. We've seen his struggles through the first few games of the season and it was very intentional that the staff didn't throw either one of Hawks or Green yesterday. I think that they will not hesitate to pull McElvain in favor of Hawks if he begins to struggle yet again.
This ballpark's dimensions are a little bit odd. There is a deep center field that is a true 400 feet, but it is just 325 feet down each line. For reference, the Hawk is 330 feet down the right field line and 400 feet to CF (LF is unique because it is only 310 but it has the Monster); Linsey Nelson is 320 feet down the lines and 390 to CF. So while it isn't a matchbox park, you could see some balls get out if you can tap in to some pull side power. It will be about 60 degrees and sunny, too, so no cold weather excuses for any lack of power.
For the actual team preview we'll start off with pitching, Caden Aoki gets the nod for USC tonight. The senior is very experienced and posted a very strong season last year with a 3.91 ERA. This year, however, has gotten off to an inconsistent start as he allowed 4 runs in 4 innings against George Washington but responded by only allowing 1 run over 5.2 versus Rice. Aoki has a solid fastball but his best pitch is a curveball that he can locate well. It's his go-to when he needs to put a batter away. Seeing it well and pounding it if he hangs it is the key to beating him. Aoki is also a righty so expect to see Mac Rose in the lineup at DH once again.
Not sure who we will see in relief but whoever it is will be solid. The USC bullpen has a sub-3 cumulative ERA so far this season. Given, they've only played 2 games against teams that I would qualify as semi-decent (they beat UC Irvine 5-3 and just beat UConn 8-5 last night) but the pen has held up well in those games, too.
Offensively USC has put up some solid numbers. They have scored 7+ runs in all but 3 games this season and are hitting for much more power than in the last few year. Last year they were one of the worst teams in the country in hitting for power (they only hit 35 all last year) but that has seemingly changed. They have already hit 11 homers and have 3 players with multiple (one already has 4). Moving on to more specific players and info, the top of USC's order is as good as any in the country and are led by Ethan Hedges and Kade Higgins. Hedges is hitting .406 and has a double, 2 triples, and 4 home runs in 32 ABs, Higgins isn't far behind him and is hitting .375 with a double and 3 home runs in 32 ABs. The trojans have 3 other players batting above .300, too. After this, though, the production really falls off. The bottom of the order is full of guys who are hitting between .160-.280 and have produced no power on the year. If the pitching can navigate the top of the order like it did yesterday, then Vandy will put itself in a very strong position.
Finally, this isn't a note about USC but a relevant thought to the game. I expect McElvain to have an extremely short leash tonight. We've seen his struggles through the first few games of the season and it was very intentional that the staff didn't throw either one of Hawks or Green yesterday. I think that they will not hesitate to pull McElvain in favor of Hawks if he begins to struggle yet again.
