USC Trojans Stunned By Texas State to Open College Station Regional

The USC Trojans baseball team watched a two-run home run make the difference for the Texas State Bobcats.

USC pitcher Mason Edwards throws a pitch as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The USC Trojans entered a 6,100-seat venue to face a baseball team they've never seen before.

They also faced the dilemma of either starting their ace pitcher Mason Edwards or letting him rest. But USC rolled out an early plan ahead of Game 1 against the Texas State Bobcats. Choosing Grant Govel before facing one of the nation's more louder baseball parks in Blue Bell Field, the home of regional host Texas A&M.

Govel kept Texas State in check despite allowing a home run. Yet closer Adam Troy was on the wrong end of a ninth-inning home run blast that scored two, plus lifted the Bobcats to the 5-4 win. Chase Mora became the one sending Texas State to the winner's bracket against the Aggies in the second round. USC faces Lamar in the elimination bracket set for 1 p.m. PT Saturday afternoon.

Below are the live updates.

May 31, 2025; Corvallis, OR, USA; USC outfielder Jack Basseer (14) hits the ball during the eighth inning against Saint Mary's at the NCAA Corvallis Regional at Goss Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

LIVE UPDATES

FINAL SCORE: TEXAS STATE 5, USC 4

BOTTOM OF THE NINTH: TEXAS STATE 5, USC 4

-Cadena takes second on wild pitch, Carpentier lines out at third on diving catch, though, to end the game.

-Lamb enters as the pinch hitter for Martinez, but flies out at right center field.

-Cadena rises as the tying run option in taking a walk to first base.

-Basseer strikes out swinging for the first out.

TOP OF THE NINTH: TEXAS STATE 5, USC 4

-Mora powers a two-run homer to left center that brings Vossos home, gets Bobcats to retake the lead.

-Adam Troy now comes in to pursue the save on the mound for the Trojans.

-Vossos advances to second on a sacrifice bunt.

-Johnson stays on the mound into the ninth. But Vossos reaches first on a fielding error at third base.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH: USC 4, TEXAS STATE 3

-Augie Lopez landed at first after being struck by a pitch. But Takeuchi strikes out to end the bottom of the eighth.

-Adrian Lopez powers a solo home run to break the tie, smacks to right field.

-Covarrubias strikes out for the second out.

-Urbon leads off for USC, but pops out by second base for the first out.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH INNING: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 3

-Johnson strikes out Stewart for the third out and leaves no one on base.

-Salas pops out to open the eighth. Then Namken grounds out for the second out.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 3

-Martinez strikes out while Carpentier grounds out to close the inning. USC left with one more runner stranded on base (12 total).

-Cadena singled toward the short stop, manages to reach first before the tag out. Then heads to second on the wild pitch.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 3

-Andrew Johnson steps in for Matson, who caps his night with 27 pitches. Gets an injured Galloway to ground out for the third out before the seventh inning stretch.

-Boles smacks a single to left while facing a 2-2-2 count.

-Matson fans his first batter on the night against Fryman.

-Mora pounds lead off single to left field. But ends up getting tagged out at second on the stolen base attempt.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 3

-Galloway with the robbery at the right field wall, prevents a Takeuchi home run opportunity for the third out. USC challenged and call was still upheld.

-Dylan Kerbow relieves Smith following 24 pitches from the latter. Responds by striking out Augie Lopez.

-Covarubbias lands on base for the fourth time in the game, this time following a lead-off double. He advances to third on a sacrifice bunt from Adrian Lopez.

TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 3

-Left-handed pitcher Sax Matson now relieves Govel, who ends with 88 pitches total. Matson forces the fly out near center field to close the top of the sixth.

-Texas State challenges a first base tag out call involving Vossos. Umpires rule the Bobcat out.

-Govel continues to stay on mound and forces pop out of Namken for first out of the sixth.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 3

-Carpentier steals second with Urbon at the plate, but flies out toward the shallow right field for the third out.

-Smith takes advantage of Cadena being too far off second, throws him out at second.

-Carpentier takes hit by pitch but loads the bases.

-Martinez chips a sacrifice bunt that gets Basseer to third and Cadena to second.

-Cadena singles and pounds first hit facing Smith.

-Bobcats now place Cade Smith on the mound. Hits Basseer in the midsection on pitch, who takes the walk.

TOP OF THE FIFTH INNING: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 3

-Govel ends the inning delivering his sixth strikeout of the night.

-Galloway smacks chopper to left side for the base hit, now the fourth hit Govel has allowed.

-Boles delivers moonshot to left field, scores Cotton on two-run home run to tie the game up.

-Fryman strikes out, now Govel's fifth of the evening.

-Mora fouls out for the first out of the fifth.

-Cotton takes the walk to start things off in the fifth for the Bobcats.

-Govel remains on the mound for USC as he surpasses 60 pitches.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH: USC 3, TEXAS STATE 1

-Takeuchi helps get Augie Lopez to advance to second on wild pitch, but fouls out to third for the final out.

-Augie Lopez singles to right and advances Adrian Lopez over to third.

-Adrian Lopez follows the Covarrubias homer with a single toward right center field.

-Covarrubias blasts a solo home run over to left field while facing a 2-2-2 count, puts USC up by two runs.

-Urbon becomes the second Trojan to strikeout against Beversdorf for the second out.

-Beversdorf strikes out Carpentier for first strikeout of his evening.

-Alec Beversdorf has stepped in to relieve Markwardt, who ends with 69 total pitches, four strikeouts and three hits allowed.

TOP OF FOURTH INNING: USC 2, TEXAS STATE 1

-Vossos grounds out to third base, as Govel leaves no one on base for the second time in the game.

-Stewart strikes out swinging for the second out.

-Govel now surpassed 50 pitches, flies out Namken for first out of the fourth.

BOTTOM OF THIRD INNING: USC 2, TEXAS STATE 1

-Martinez flies out to center field, Marwardt leaves two stranded on third and second base.

-Cadena strikes out swinging.

-Basseer advances to second base on a wild pitch.

-Basseer powers a single to the left side, Augie Lopez scores in response to break the 1-1 tie.

-Takeuchi doubles toward left center field with Augie Lopez advancing to third.

-Augie Lopez reaches on fielding error.

-Adrian Lopez starts inning by striking out swinging as Markwardt remains on mound.

TOP OF THIRD INNING: TEXAS STATE 1, USC 1

-Salas grounds out as Govel leaves no one on base.

-Brady Boles strikes out next for the second out.

-Galloway strikes out and is no 0-for-2 at the bat facing Govel.

BOTTOM OF SECOND INNING: TEXAS STATE 1, USC 1

-Covarrubias helps tie the game; reached on throwing error at second base which allowed Carpentier to advance to second, but Cadena scores the unearned run. Covarrubias eventually is tagged out at third base for final out.

-Walter Urbon strikes out swinging for second out.

-Dean Carpentier rips a single toward left field, advances Cadena to second with one out.

-Maximo Martinez strikes out, officailly Markwardt's first of the evening.

-Isaac Cadena takes the walk to start the bottom of the second.

TOP OF SECOND INNING: TEXAS STATE 1, USC 0

-Bennett Fryman grounds out to second base. Vossos stranded at third base.

-Chase Mora puts the Bobcats on the board; flying out to right field but driving Jaquae Stewart home on the sacrifice RBI to make it 1-0.

-Govel delivers second strikeout of the evening, fanning Jackson Cotton.

-Justin Vossos follows with doubling down the right field line. Stewart moves to third to become the first Texas State player in scoring position.

-Jaquae Stewart powers a double to center field while facing a one-ball, one-strike count against Govel for first Bobcats hit.

BOTTOM OF FIRST: USC 0, TEXAS STATE 0

-Jack Basseer grounds out at third base. Markwardt leaves two stranded on base.

-Kevin Takeuchi smacks an infield ground ball but is tagged out at first. However, Covarrubias advances to third while Augie Lopez heads to second.

-Augie Lopez moves to third in USC order, takes the walk.

-Adrian Lopez ground outs to Markwardt for first out.

-Trojans lead off hitter Abbrie Covarrubias walks to start USC offense.

-Ryan Markwardt starting at pitcher for the Bobcats.

TOP OF FIRST INNING: USC 0, TEXAS STATE 0

-Rashawn Galloway flies out toward center field for the third out.

- Manny Salas grounds out towards second base.

-Clayton Namken strikes out facing USC's Grant Govel.

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PREVIEW

Starting Pitcher for USC Trojans Official

May 31, 2025; Corvallis, OR, USA; USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz takes questions after a game against Saint Mary's at the NCAA Corvallis Regional at Goss Stadium. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Head coach Andy Stankiewicz chose to place Grant Govel on the mound, allowing the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Edwards to be saved for later.

Govel brings 86 strikeouts from the season in tow against the Sun Belt Conference representative. He allowed an ERA of 2.84 this season while owning a 10-2 record. Unlike Edwards, Govel throws heat out of his right arm.

Govel, though, is aiming to shed consecutive losses on the mound. Oregon handed him the defeat on May 15 by hitting four times and scoring four runs against him. UCLA also handed him fits, scoring six runs while pounding the baseball another four times in the conference semifinal loss for the Trojans. Stankiewicz still holds lots of confidence in the starting pitcher as he addressed reporters before the Texas State contest.

"We feel like he matches up really well against [the Bobcats]. Texas State can hit, man. We see that," Stankiewicz said. "We looked at the video. They're physical. They're strong. They're like A&M, and then Lamar is probably more like us."

Stankiewicz blurted out two more names who could see time on the hill against TSU: Diego Velazquez and Drew Johnson.

Grant Govel Battling Injury Ahead of Texas State

USC celebrates a home run by Isaac Cadena (20) as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Govel is dealing with one notable ailment ahead of the first pitch.

He absorbed a line drive to the back of his rib cage against UCLA. That ground ball pound topped a speed of 112 miles per hour.

However, USC insists its Game 1 starter is ready to go.

Top Hitters USC Trojans are Facing

Isaac Cadena makes a catch to clinch the Trojans' win in extra innings as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard

Texas State enters with a much different record at 36-24 compared to USC's astonishing 43-15 mark.

But the Bobcats head to College Station, presenting six power hitters who have surpassed the .300 mark.

Ethan Farris leads with .337 including ripping eight home runs. Rashawn Galloway will be another USC will take seriously, through his .324 average and 12 homers. Clayton Namken follows at .317 with 11 home runs.

Manny Salas (.315 average) is second on the Bobcats with 15 home run blasts. Justin Vossos and Dawson Park hit at .304 and .301, respectively.

But look for the USC outfield to play closer to the wall when Jaquae Stewart heads to the plate, given his Texas State-best 16 home runs.

USC Projected Starting Lineup

USC outfielder Jack Basseer hits a single as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here's the projected starters when USC takes the field:

Pitcher: Grant Govel
Catcher: Isaac Cadena
First Base: Adrian Lopez
Second Base: Abbrie Covarrubias
Third Base: Maximo Martinez
Right Field: Jack Basseer
Center Field: Kevin Takeuchi
Left Field: Andrew Lamb

Now here's the projected batting order when USC is at the plate:

1. Abbrie Covarrubias
2. Adrian Lopez
3. Kevin Takeuchi
4. Isaac Cadena
5. Jack Basseer
6. Andrew Lamb
7. Dean Carpentier
8. Walter Urbon
9. Maximo Martinez
10. Maddox Riske

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