Baseball for the Win

By Mark Love ‘16

For the football fans who are still bummed over last year’s mediocre season, hold your head high for an up-and-coming sports squad is well on its way towards national acclaim. The mens’ baseball team is entering home stretch of the regular season, and its winning record just simply cannot go unnoticed. With a 29-10 record, the Trojans have clinched an 11^th place spot on the NCAA baseball rankings. From managing a 13-game winning streak to defeating top-ranked Vanderbilt, our Trojans are fighting on to become College World Series contenders.

I have to admit that I’ve never been to a baseball game before the USC and Vanderbilt scuffle. As a Memphis native, basketball was the sport of choice throughout my childhood. With the Grizzlies and the early 2000s success of the Memphis Tigers college basketball team, I naturally gravitated towards the sport. In fact, an extra credit opportunity in one of my classes brought me inside Dedeaux Field to watch USC face off against crosstown rivals UCLA. At that moment, I realized that baseball deserves more attention on campus. The fans roared with excitement as cheers and jeers filled the stadium. The encouraging rally chants to a few disparaging comments from the opposing side, the baseball game mirrored a classic Trojan/Bruin football fight to the finish. Unfortunately, UCLA, who just topped the national college ranking, won the battle. But if our team maintains their current momentum, there’s no doubt that we will make a college championship appearance.